Medical capacity for critically ill COVID-19 patients in jeopardy

Medical staffers work in an intensive care unit for critically ill COVID-19 patients at a hospital in Gangwon Province in this December 2020 photo. Yonhap

By Lee Hyo-jin

• Published Nov 15, 2021 4:51 PM KST
• Updated Nov 16, 2021 2:22 PM KST

Government urged to speed up rollout of booster shots

By Lee Hyo-jin

The country's national public health system is at risk of being overwhelmed by surging coronavirus patients in critical condition amid the gradual phase-out of social distancing measures under the government's “Living with COVID-19” strategy.

The number of critically ill patients ― those requiring ventilators, high-flow oxygen therapy, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) or continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) ― is a crucial factor in the government's decision on whether the country will be able to move to the next step in its “return to normalcy” plan.

This figure has stayed over 400 for 10 consecutive days, raising concern as the health authorities said earlier that their current medical capacity could cope with up to 500 seriously ill patients.

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), the country reported 471 such patients Sunday, after reaching an all-time high of 485, Friday.

Intensive care unit (ICU) beds available for COVID-19 patients across the country are filling up at a rapid pace, especially in Seoul and the surrounding metropolitan area.

As of 5 p.m., Sunday, 78.6 percent of ICU beds were occupied in Seoul, 78.5 percent in Incheon and 73 percent in Gyeonggi Province. Nationwide, 62 percent of beds were filled.

These figures have led to concern as the government had said earlier it would put into effect a contingency plan to halt its “Living with COVID-19” policies, while possibly re-introducing social distancing measures, if 75 percent of hospital beds were occupied nationwide.

“The occupancy rate of ICU beds in the Seoul metropolitan area has reached nearly 80 percent. We will take necessary response measures such as securing additional hospital beds and enabling effective use of our medical capacity,” Lee Chang-joon, a senior official at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said during a COVID-19 response briefing, Monday.

But Lee noted that the number of critically ill patients was not the only indicator upon which the government would base its decision to initiate the contingency plan.

On Thursday, the government will unveil detailed indices based on which it will assess the country's COVID-19 situation on a weekly basis and further make decisions on whether to proceed to the next phase of the “Living with COVID-19” plan.

Health experts believe that in order to curb the number of seriously ill patients, the government should put more effort into rolling out booster shots.

“What is more important than securing additional hospital beds, is curbing the number of critically ill patients,” said Chon Eun-mi, a professor of respiratory diseases at Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital.

“Currently, a vast majority of seriously ill patients are people aged over 60,” she said, advising people in that age group to receive an additional shot if they hadn't suffered any adverse reactions to their primary vaccinations.

In addition to a swift rollout of booster shots, Chon said the government should more actively use antibody treatments to prevent patients from falling into a critical condition.

The government is currently offering booster shots to those aged 60 and above, and to people at nursing homes. Beginning Monday, such vaccinations were expanded to people in their 50s if six months have passed since their first doses, as well as high-risk groups aged between 18 and 49.

Meanwhile, following a recent rise in infections among children, the health authorities are now “strongly recommending” teenagers to be vaccinated, a change from its initial stance that the inoculation on children would be a “voluntary decision” of their parents or guardians.