Scientists from all three Austrian MedUnis have now presented a sad balance sheet for the first two years of the Covid 19 pandemic. In a study published in “Scientific Reports”, they report that between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2021, 17.3 percent of Covid-19 patients in Austrian hospitals have died. Men and the elderly were at extreme risk.
In their retrospective study, Paul Zajic (MedUni Graz), Michael Hiesmayr (MedUni Vienna), Michael Joannidis (MedUni Innsbruck) and the other co-authors evaluated all available patient data in Austria for the observation period in the first two years of the Covid-19 crisis. 19 pandemic attempts to analyze all hospital admissions of SARS-CoV-2 patients in Austria, as well as those in intensive care units and intermediate care beds (“middle” between normal ward and intensive care unit; note), their mortality and characteristics . “68,193 patients were included. 8,304 (12.3 percent) were mainly admitted to an intensive care unit. 3,592 (5.3 percent) came to an intermediate care unit,” the scientists wrote.
Data speaks for vaccination
The data strongly suggest that one should try to protect people infected with SARS-CoV-2 from severe disease progression through vaccination – if necessary also through rapid administration of medication such as Paxlovid etc. The authors of the study: “Hospital mortality (from Covid-19) 19 patients; note) was 17.3 percent. The risk factors were male gender (67 percent more mortality than females; NB) and old age (7.86 times higher mortality in the over-90s compared to those aged 60 to 64; NB).
In the time course between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2021, hospital mortality due to Covid-19 was statistically significantly higher than the overall average by 15 percent in the first half of 2020, and also statistically significantly higher by eleven percent in the second half of 2021. This is probably related to the particularly high number of cases during these periods. Usually, Covid-19 patients in the age group between 55 and 74 were admitted to intensive care units and intermediate care units. While this is understandable for the younger age groups because of the lower overall risk, it cannot be fully explained for the very oldest, the study authors wrote.
Men seem to be more affected than women
Covid-19 apparently made Austrian men sicker than women: Of the patients admitted to intensive care units from the start (8304 patients), only 35.2 percent were women (2919 people). 64.8 percent were male (5385). Overall, however, there were two risk factors in particular, as the study authors state: “In all patients (…) male gender was identified as a risk factor for hospital mortality (from Covid-19; note) (risk with a factor 1.67 compared to women; note). There was an almost linear relationship between age and in-hospital mortality.”
While Covid-19 patients up to 19 years after hospitalization had only five percent of the risk of death of those aged 60 to 64 and those aged 55 to 59 had about half the risk (55 percent) of the comparison group, the risk by 42 percent among 65 to 69 year olds. At that time, people aged 80 to 84 had a 3.54 times higher risk of dying (compared to people aged 60 to 64). People aged 85 to 89 died in hospital 5.14 times more often, and those aged 90 and over 7.86 times more often.
Source: Krone
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