Despite reports of hospital workers being hesitant to get vaccinated against COVID-19, the head of the government s scientific advisory council has said the current situation is not dangerous.
On Friday, ETV s current affairs show Aktuaalne kaamera (AK) asked experts and medical professionals about the vaccination rate amongst hospital staff and the concerns around healthcare workers who do not want to get the vaccine. Under Estonia s vaccination plan, healthcare workers were the first people to be vaccinated.
Professor of Virology Irja Lutsar said it is not yet possible to access whether the vaccination of healthcare workers has been successful as it is too early to tell.
The North Estonia Medical Center (PERH) suspects that their medical waste carrier Eesti Keskkonnateenused does not follow regulations when handling medical waste. The company confirmed it follows regulations but will initate an independent investigation.
PERH suspects that some waste does not reach the locations contractually set with Eesti Keskkonnateenused. The hospital has not made any official allegations, but has consulted with the Police and Border Guard Board, said PERH board chair Agris Peedu. Their suspicion is based on a hint the hospital received some time ago.
PERH has many waste handlers. In addition to Tallinn, hospitals are located in Rapla, Haapsalu and Hiiumaa. There are tons of medical waste generated each week, sorted into ten categories at the hospitals. There are body parts that need to be kept cold and general waste that could have been in contact with infectious diseases.
0 >Estonia s first COVID-19 vaccine was given to resident-doctor Jelena Rozinko in Kohtla-Järve in Ida-Viru County on December 27. Source: Sergei Stepanov/ERR
Coronavirus vaccinations for all those who desire it is not feasible by the target date of the end of June 2021, daily Postimees says. However, the paper was unable to get concrete information on when and whether delivery rates would be met.
Several private sector firms are involved at various stages of EU procurement processes for the COVID-19 vaccine, so the issue is a moving target already. Once priority people have received the injection, administering inoculation to the rest of the populace also hinges on how many people actually request it; at present the vaccine is optional and is not mandatory for all citizens and residents.
Managers of Estonia s largest hospitals do not believe people will follow social distancing rules during the Christmas holidays and think there will be an increase of people admitted to hospital which will cause cancellations for scheduled treatment at the start of 2021. There are also growing concerns about coronavirus spreading among hospital staff.
There are currently 66 coronarvirus patients in treatment at Tallinn s North Estonia Medical Center (PERH), nine are in intensive care and six are using ventilators.
Chairman of the Board of Tallinn s North Estonia Medical Center (PERH) Agris Peedu told ERR the holidays will lead to an increase in coronavirus patients in hospitals.
The number of elderly patients admitted to hospital with coronavirus has risen and lengths of hospital stays have increased, the Health Board s emergency medical manager Dr. Urmas Sule has said.
Statistics show that in the last two weeks, 77 percent of people needing treatment for coronavirus are over 60 years old. The number of people over 90 needing treatment was 8 percent which is 36 people, rising from 6 percent last week.
The number of people treated over the last two weeks is 446, which is a third more than the previous two weeks which saw 331 people treated in hospitals across the country.
In the autumn, fewer people were admitted to hospital and stays were short as coronavirus was spreading among young and middle-aged people and has milder symptoms. But as coronavirus severely affects older people, the length of hospital stays has increased.