People in 40s and 50s now filling up ICU wards, says D-G

 

With many seniors in their 60s and above already vaccinated, those in their 40s and 50s are now high-risk cases and are filling up the ICUs, says Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: Those in their 40s and 50s – not senior citizens – are now more likely to enter the intensive care unit (ICU) for Covid-19 treatment, said health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

He said this was based on reports from the national crisis preparedness and response centre (CPRC) and hospital services CPRC.

“This situation proves that the vaccine has helped reduce the risk of Covid-19 infection among vulnerable groups and senior citizens (those above 60),” he said in a statement today.

He urged Malaysians aged between 18 and 59 to register for the vaccine and keep their appointments.

Commenting on the consistently high number of daily cases, Noor Hisham admitted that hospital beds, especially those in the ICU, were filled with Covid-19 patients.

Noting that 2.4% of today’s 11,985 infections were in categories 3, 4, 5 while the remaining 97.6% were under category 1 and 2, he said this was based on their clinical condition when they were first diagnosed with the virus.

“Some of them remain in the same category throughout the period of infection, however some of their health statuses also change, either by improving to a lower category or worsening to a higher category,” he said. - FMT