The National Covid Crisis Coordination Commission (GECKO) has been extended until June 30, 2023. The independent panel of experts continuously evaluates the current corona situation and informs the federal government about epidemiological, medical, health system and social developments. The commission was originally set for a year in December 2021. GECKO is currently warning not to underestimate the risk of Long Covid.
24 experts are involved, including scientists from various disciplines, specialists from interest groups and other organisations. The chairmen are the Director-General of Public Health, Katharina Reich, and the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, Rudolf Striedinger.
Twelve working groups are working on central themes of the pandemic and discuss the current situation in regular GECKO meetings, currently usually every 14 days. More than 500 questions from the federal government were discussed and answered by the GECKO committee in just under a year. After more than 54 hours of pure meeting time, more than 300 pages have been published in the form of Executive Reports.
Long Covid Warning
In its latest report, the GECKO commission states that we will continue to be at risk from Long Covid even if the number of cases falls. According to these data, 5,768 hospitalizations of 4,949 patients with a post-Covid-19 condition were registered in Austria at the end of August, of whom 610 were cared for in intensive care units.
The report also points to a certain risk of death from Lung Covid: according to it, 4.2 percent of all patients hospitalized with Lung Covid have died. This was not so surprising for the sick in intensive care, even 12.5 percent. GECKO referred to research data from the US that millions of people are affected by Lung Covid and thus chronic diseases. This in turn has far-reaching consequences, such as on labor participation, economic productivity and social well-being, the committee writes. The health care system is also affected because Long Covid ensures that more people will depend on permanent care.
GECKO had the bad news at the end: “Despite different therapeutic approaches, there has been no breakthrough in the treatment of Lung Covid,” the report said.
New sub variants are coming again
GECKO also provided an update on new Corona variants. “The development and characterization of new SARS-CoV-2 virus variants has been very dynamic in recent weeks,” the committee writes in the report. On the basis of the globally distributed omicron variants, especially BA.2 and BA.5, several subvariants would have developed, some of which would show significant regional growth advantages. “This development continues.” The variants BQ.1 apply. (a sub-variant of BA.5.3) and XBB.1. (a recombinant of BJ.1 and BA.2.75) as types with potential for global dominance. In Austria, the share of the new transactions BQ.1, BQ.1.1 and BF.7 continues to increase.
Source: Krone
I’m an experienced news author and editor based in New York City. I specialize in covering healthcare news stories for Today Times Live, helping to keep readers informed on the latest developments related to the industry. I have a deep understanding of medical topics, including emerging treatments and drugs, the changing laws that regulate healthcare providers, and other matters that affect public health.
