Statistics published on 24 February 2022 by the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) reveal that nearly 12% of the people hospitalised with Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic in Switzerland died.
The data, which cover around 63% of hospitalised Covid-19 patients in Switzerland, show 2,802 Covid-19 deaths (11.7%) among 23,970 Covid-19 patient admissions. A further 273 deaths (1.1%) among the group were assigned a different cause of death.
Many of the remaining Covid-19 deaths in Switzerland were among patients that never made it to hospital, many in nursing homes. In Zurich, 63% of Covid-19 deaths up until the end of 2020 occurred in nursing homes, reported Léman Bleu.
Official reported Covid-19 deaths in Switzerland had reached 12,690 by 23 February 2022. One excess death-based estimate puts the number at 14,240 (IHME). Another, by The Economist, estimates a figure of between 12,000 and 16,000.
In addition, the FOPH data reveal the positive effect of vaccines. Between December 2020 and December 2021, there were significant mortality differences between those immunised and those who were not. Out of the 888 deaths recorded among a 9,405 subset of Covid-19 patients, 696 (78%) were unvaccinated. Among those admitted who were double or triple jabbed there were 131 (15%) deaths. The remaining 61 (7%) who died were partially immunised.
During September and October 2021, 76% of patients treated in intensive care (ICU) were not immunised, according to the same FOPH data. In addition, for fully immunised patients there was a skew towards older age groups with only 10% aged below 50. In comparison, non-immunised patients admitted to ICU included proportionally more patients from younger age groups. Among this group 33% were aged under 50.
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