Thread by @miamalan

[Thread] 1. What's happening with #COVID19 hospital admissions in SA?

Waasila Jassat, @nicd_sa:
- Over the past 14 days, admissions have decreased between 18% and 59% in all provinces

2. Your risk of hospitalisation due to an #Omicron infection is about 50% lower than in Wave 1,2,3 in SA (the risk for each wave = slightly different)

Most admissions in Wave 4 (#Omicron) = people between 20 and 39 years. In Wave 1,2,3 = admissions of people between 40 and 70.

3. Even though there were more admissions among younger people during our #Omicron wave, people's risk of admission still increased with age. So the older you were, the more likely you were to get very sick with #COVID.

4. Jassat:

Once you're admitted to hospital for #COVID19 in SA, your risk of dying of it is much higher if you were admitted to a public sector hospital than a private sector hospital.

5. Jassat:

In SA, the most common comorbidity associated with a #COVID19 patient who gets hospitalised, is hypertension (high blood pressure). The second most common comorbidity is diabetes and patients almost always have more than one comorbidity.

6. Jassat:

Comorbidities associated with #COVID19 hospital admission = change with age.

For people between 20-39 years (sexually reproductive years) HIV = most common comorbidity. For people of 40+ hypertension/diabetes = most common (lifestyle diseases = more common in 40+)

7. Jassat:

Ultimately, age is the strongest indicator of how sick you will get with #COVID19 - more so than any other comorbidity.

In SA, non-white people's risk of death of COVID = higher than white people's