Corona policy in the election campaign? Apparently the federal government does not want to actively work on this. Only one day after the urgent warning from the Vienna Medical Association of a ‘catastrophic situation’, the Ministry of Health played down everything on Wednesday.
The situation is similar to last year and there is “no major cause for concern,” said Katharina Reich, Director General of Health, in the Ö1 “Mittagsjournal”.
“Disaster”
However, the vice president of the Vienna Medical Association, Naghme Kamaleyan-Schmied, warned clearly on Tuesday: “The Covid wastewater figures are a disaster. This will overwhelm us and I am genuinely worried about the coming months.”
Doctors concerned: ‘Many patients die before treatment’
Background: Corona tests have not been free since April 1. But only with such a positive test can doctors prescribe the effective Paxlovid. Kamaleyan-Schmied: “Many of my patients cannot afford the test and therefore skip the treatment. It is a disaster.”
But Reich denies this: “Both our wastewater monitoring and our dashboard regarding hospital admissions and our sentinel – that is, the information from GP practices – show a constant but slow increase in the number of infections. This development is almost the same as last year.”
Ministry: “No signs of deteriorating situation”
There are also no signs that the situation in intensive care units could deteriorate again. According to Reich, the number of admissions due to Covid has been “almost in the single digits” in recent weeks. “There is no reason to be concerned here. We have sufficient capacity,” the director general said.
In the colder seasons, however, infections are likely to increase again. “The same as last year. “It is now a matter of paying attention again when we go indoors more, when life takes place less outside, and also to think again about how I behave when I feel symptoms of infection,” Reich said.
Flu and RSV are also not a problem at the moment, because these diseases only occur in the cold season. “It starts in October, November at the earliest. The peaks, or the highest numbers, can even be noted here in December, January and February. ‘So we still have time,’ Reich said.
Whooping cough: Ministry calls for vaccination
With whooping cough, however, the situation is somewhat different. “We have had more and more whooping cough for years, so here is a big call for vaccinations: whooping cough must be refreshed regularly,” the Secretary General urged.
Dispute over lack of free Covid tests
Regarding the criticism from the Vienna Medical Association that the federal government is no longer paying for Covid tests in doctors’ offices, which are necessary to prescribe the drug Paxlovid, Reich saw the ball in the court of the negotiating partners.
“In a normal situation like we have now, in a normal infection situation, social security is responsible for financing these things. And the way in which the social insurance of the medical association is to be negotiated is also the responsibility of social security,” said the secretary general.
Source: Krone
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