Coronavirus Why are restrictions lifted even though tens of coronary deaths are still being recorded per week? – “It is unthinkable that anyone in Finland should ever die anywhere,” says THL’s Salminen

The last one During the month, the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) has reported more than 50 coronavirus-related deaths each week.

Weekly deaths are higher than during the spring 2020 peak. Still, interest rate restrictions have begun to be lifted. On Monday, the Prime Minister Sanna Marin (sd) said at an event by the Association of Editor-in-Chief that interest rate restrictions should be lifted during February.

Read more: Prime Minister Marin says interest rate restrictions should be lifted in February – Saarikko: Center supports immediate lifting of restrictions

The gradual and moderate lifting of restrictions has also received support from THL’s experts. Why are restrictions being lifted in a situation where dozens of people who are infected with corona still die every week?

Director of Health Safety at THL Mika Salminen explains this by the fact that a significantly lower proportion of those infected with corona die from the disease.

“If the disease had spread in the population in the same proportion as now, in the spring of 2020, the number of deaths would have been at least ten times higher than in the current situation,” says Salminen.

According to Salminen, the ratio of deaths to the number of deaths has changed enormously at the European level. It can also be seen in Finland: when 4.6 per cent of those infected with a confirmed corona infection died in January-June 2020, the share was only about half a per cent last autumn.

Now the case mortality rate is already less than half a percent, Salminen estimates.

Exact data on the risk of death from omicron-mediated disease compared to previous variants are not yet available.

“It can be said that the coronavirus is no longer a threat to young people, especially those who have been vaccinated,” says the chief medical officer for infectious diseases. Asko Järvinen Helsinki and Uusimaa Hospital District (Hus).

According to Järvinen, international research shows that although the protection of the vaccine against the symptoms of coronary heart disease has weakened due to the omicron transformation, the vaccine still seems to protect against a very serious disease and especially against death.

THL collects data on coronary mortality by comparing disease reports with a population database, ie by looking at whether a person who has tested positive has died within 30 days of the result.

According to Järvinen, in the current situation, the statistical method is difficult. In the Hus area, for example, corona tests are being taken more comprehensively than before, regardless of the reason for the need for treatment.

By testing, a lot of infections have been found, for example, in convalescent care wards, where those who come no longer have much time left. Nursing homes also now have a large number of tests.

“The majority of vaccinated elderly who are in 24-hour institutional care have mild symptoms of coronary infection. When the epidemic pressure is severe and there are many infections in all age groups, more deaths are also registered as corona deaths. It does not directly tell us what the mortality rate of the coronavirus is. ”

According to Järvinen, deaths related to coronary heart disease continue to focus on the very elderly and the multi-sick.

Throughout the epidemic, 15 percent of coronary deaths in the Hus area have occurred in specialist care. The majority of deaths are recorded in nursing homes and primary care.

“It means that a person is already so severely ill and elderly that it is considered that he would not survive intensive care.”

Read more: Last year, 500 more Finns died than expected, but was it all due to the coronavirus?

Last in, THL reported a total of 1,136 deaths related to coronary heart disease. More than 250 deaths have already been reported in the early part of the year. The figures for January are still complete.

If mortality continued at the level of the beginning of the year, there would be time to record more corona-related deaths in the first half of the year than in the previous two years combined.

Who will ultimately decide on the number of coronavirus-related deaths in Finland that can be accepted?

“Yes, its society decides together. After all, we have politically elected decision-makers who decide how to act, ”says Salminen.

“Of course, it is not so much possible to think that no one in Finland should ever die anywhere. There are certain risks in life that can be managed and prevented proportionately. Where the limit of proportionality is met is a matter for society as a whole. ”

Salminen emphasizes that the population is currently fully vaccinated and that vaccines provide very good protection against serious and fatal diseases.

“Vaccines are not perfect. Even a small proportion of those vaccinated may die. After all, human mortality is something we can do nothing about. ”

According to Salminen, however, the current situation is not about doing anything to prevent deaths.

“Everything that can be done in human power has now really been done here. And yes, quite a few countries have come to the conclusion that now is the time to move forward. ”

Last winter, extensive corona restrictions effectively prevented the spread of seasonal flu, and the coronavirus appeared to have displaced seasonal flu as a cause of death. Although Salminen does not like to compare the coronavirus to the influenza virus, he says it is expected that the coronavirus will turn into a seasonal respiratory infection over time.

“It’s hard to imagine that by closing a society, you can constantly control the situation. It is not wise for a long time, and it is not possible at all, because the disadvantages of restrictions have already become partly unsustainable. Yes, the wheels of society have to spin, even though there is a new, nasty disease among them that cannot be eradicated. ”