Covid: contagions always on the rise, the fear of all of Italy in the red zone increases

Covid emergency, contagions still growing while the fear that the whole of Italy will become a red zone increases. Meanwhile, the Milano Bicocca University identifies an algorithm that establishes the priority for the administration of vaccines.  According to data released by the Ministry of Health, the new positive cases registered in the last 24 hours are 20.884 which bring the total number of infected people, since the pandemic broke out, to 2.976.274. Yesterday the positives were 17.083. There are 347 deaths today; 98.635 people have died since the start of the pandemic.

To date in Italy, again according to ministerial data, there are 437.421 currently positive, an increase of 6.425 compared to yesterday. The healed and discharged since the beginning of the emergency are 2.440.218 with an increase of 14.068 in the last 24 hours. In the last 24 hours 358.884 swabs (molecular and antigenic) were carried out, yesterday they were 335.983. The positivity rate is 5,8 percent, up from 5,1 percent yesterday.

Contagions, the fear that Italy will become all red zone increases

“It seems to me that all of Italy, except Sardinia, is approaching with long strides towards the red zone. Lombardy, for what it has been through in recent months, is more vulnerable than other regions. There is no question that you need to vaccinate. Much more can be done than what we are already doing with respect to this situation. You have to go to Brussels to beat your fists ”. Guido Bertolaso, consultant to the president of Lombardy region Attilio Fontana for the vaccination plan, speaking at Palazzo Pirelli. 

 Bertolaso's statements confirm that the fear that the whole country will become one big red zone is growing more and more if it does not accelerate with the vaccination campaign. “The contagion started much faster than before due to the variations. If this growth, which took place in 10-15 days, does not find an acceleration in the response, we risk being overwhelmed. We like other parts of Italy ". Thus the president of Emilia-Romagna Stefano Bonaccini, saying that the English variant "almost seems to be a new virus by diffusion and age categories".

The vaccine priority algorithm

An algorithm developed by the statisticians of the University of Milan Bicocca identifies by name and surname persons aged 18 to 79 who have priority to the vaccine based on their clinical profile. The frailty index was calculated by crossing the information of the Database assisted in the regions with the surveillance flows of tampons, hospitalizations and deaths from Covid in the first and second wave. The application of this system - the researchers explain - allows to avoid hundreds of intubations and deaths. The algorithm, adopted by Lombardy, will be communicated to the Ministry of Health.