What is Malta’s R-factor at the moment? – Charles Azzopardi
The R-factor at the moment is around 0.9 and has been oscillating between 0.9 and 1.0 for the past few days.
There had been a small rise to 1.1 over the latter half of August, which was also reflected in case numbers.
Nonetheless, what this means is that the COVID-19 detection rate has been consistent for a while, with very little changes.
For this figure to be meaningful one must take into consideration the detection, or the positivity rate we have been having the past weeks. Currently, the seven-day moving average for cases is 28.7 and the positivity rate dropped to 0.9 per cent (see accompanying table).
Therefore, if we have to consider the R-factor over the next days, the aim would be to keep R around or below 1 because that would mean that the daily case count would be consistently stable or even dropping, thus protecting our elderly’s lives and our children’s livelihoods.
We need to be aware of the various indicators which are used to monitor the pandemic situation.
The number of cases is dependent on who and how many people get tested.
Therefore, we look at positivity rate. This will give an indication on the people who are testing positive, which can include a vast range of clinical outcomes ranging from asymptomatic people to severe disease.
So hospitalisation data broken down by severity provides a more reliable gauge of the pandemic’s true burden in terms of severe disease.
Of those who died in the past month, how many of them were fully vaccinated? – Angela Grima
Many of the recent deaths occurred among people who were fully vaccinated. That doesn’t mean vaccines do not avert deaths. Several studies of vaccine effectiveness have been conducted in the UK which indicate that two doses of vaccine are between 65 and 95 per cent effective at preventing symptomatic disease with COVID-19 with the Delta variant, with higher levels of protection of 90-99 per cent against severe disease, including hospitalisation and death.
The latest Public Health England estimates indicate that the vaccination programme has directly averted over 230,800 hospitalisations. Analysis on the direct and indirect impact of the vaccination programme on infections and mortality suggests the vaccination programme has prevented between 24.4 and 24.9 million infections and between 108,600 and 116,200 deaths.
Some deaths are expected once the vaccine is not 100 per cent effective, and knowing that death from COVID increases with age. In fact, data from Public Health England shows that the rate of death within 28 days or within 60 days of a positive COVID-19 test increases with age. This is substantially greater in unvaccinated individuals compared to fully vaccinated individuals.
Had we had fewer people vaccinated, we would have had a higher proportion of our population at higher risk of death- Charmaine Gauci
In addition, with most of our population being vaccinated, you would expect that when deaths occur, a number of these would have been vaccinated. Had we had fewer people vaccinated, we would have had a higher proportion of our population at higher risk of death.
Could you kindly explain what the proper protocols for changing rooms and showers at public pools are? – David Curmi
Standards are in place to mitigate risk in places where people are bound to meet each other. The management of such places need to ensure that no crowding takes place in common areas such as changing rooms and toilets. Public toilets and changing rooms are to be cleaned and disinfected every hour. Poolside areas (including changing rooms and toilets) are to be limited to a maximum of one person per four square metres, including staff, at any one time.
Documentation is to be kept on site, logging disinfection times every hour.
Do COVID-19 vaccines cause changes in the menstrual cycle? – Maryanne Camilleri
The Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC) is the European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) committee responsible for assessing and monitoring the safety of human medicines. This committee has discussed reported cases of menstrual disorders occurring after vaccination against COVID-19, however no causal association between COVID-19 vaccines and menstrual disorders has been established so far.
Menstrual disorders are very common and can occur without an underlying medical condition. Causes can range from stress and tiredness to underlying medical conditions, such as fibroids and endometriosis.
Women experiencing unexpected vaginal bleeding (e.g. in postmenopausal women) or who are concerned about prolonged or severe menstrual disturbances may want to seek medical advice.
Are monoclonal antibodies given to COVID-19 patients in Malta? If yes, at what stage are they administered and who qualifies for this treatment? If not, why isn’t this treatment administered in Malta and what specific treatment are COVID-19 patients currently given? – Ruth Scott
In Malta, Tocilizumab (a recombinant humanised monoclonal antibody which acts as an interleukin 6 receptor antagonist) is used in severe rapidly progressive/ critical COVID pneumonia patients. Other treatment used in COVID patients are Dexamethasone, Remdesivir and oxygen and support care.
Have any questions to ask the superintendent? Send an e-mail to askcharmaine@timesofmalta.com.