Another wave, this time caused by the Delta variant of the coronavirus, has been raging in the four countries since July 21. A general observation is also the absence of restrictive measures for the summer period. People travel relatively calmly, visit restaurants and lead a normal life.
The differences between countries are mainly in the levels of vaccination. As of September 21, they are respectively for the United States - 54.1%, Great Britain - 65.03%, Israel - 63.6% and Bulgaria - about 18%. Only Bulgaria is drastically lagging behind in the vaccination of the population.
Now let's look at the mortality for the period July 21 - September 21, expressed in the number of deaths per 1 million inhabitants. It is respectively for the USA - 210 (total 70 003 dead), Great Britain - 96 (total 6523), Israel - 121 (total 1123) and Bulgaria - 295 (total 2037 dead). Bulgaria firmly holds the highest number of deaths from coronavirus, three times more than the leader Britain.
What is the reason for this big difference?
The reasons, no doubt, are complex. The efficiency of the health system, the climate, the population density, etc. are important. However, these factors are difficult to assess and express with specific numerical values and therefore the indisputable facts are more important. These are the levels of vaccination and the type of vaccines used in the country concerned.
In general, two conclusions can be drawn:
The highest mortality is found in the country with the lowest level of vaccination, ie. Bulgaria. However, the number of deaths from coronavirus is not directly proportional to the level of vaccination, which indicates the presence of other factors.
The lowest mortality is observed in the UK. The island has similar levels of vaccination to the United States and Israel, and the explanation for this is in the type of vaccine used. While in the other two countries 100% mRNA is used, in the UK almost half of those vaccinated have a viral / vector vaccine. The conclusions made after the winter-spring wave of the Alpha variant are repeated, that the best protection against a fatal end is established after the application of viral / vector preparations.
Given the above, some country-specific recommendations can be made. In the United States, for example, in the spring, President Joe Biden's administration decided to stop using Astra Zeneca and relied solely on mRNA vaccines. This turned out to be a huge mistake that obviously cost the lives of thousands of citizens.
For Bulgaria, the recommendations are clear. Maximum efforts are needed to raise vaccination and, secondly, to increase the proportion of people with viral / vector preparations, which is currently around 20%. With appropriate levels and type of vaccination only in the last 2 months Bulgaria could prevent at least half of the fatal infections, ie. to save 1000 of its citizens.
These 1,000 Bulgarians are now a "tax" of indecision, politicking, ignorance, including of the medical staff, and aggressive anti-vaccination.
/OFFNews