SINGAPORE: The ongoing wave of COVID-19 infections caused by the XBB subvariant may peak before mid-November, as expected.
“It is quite transparent since last week that cases have started to be transmitted,” Health Minister Ong Ye Kung told reporters Sunday at a network meeting in Sembawang RCMP, where he is an MP.
“If it helps to keep going down from here, it means our model was a little more pessimistic,” he said.
Ong added that if this downward trend persists, the XBB wave peaked earlier than expected.
The XBB Omicron subvariant, also known as BA. 2. 10, is lately the leading cause of Covid-19 infections in Singapore, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on October 15.
The ministry added that it expects the wave of XBB infection to hit around mid-November.
Mr. Ong speaking on the sidelines of the launch of the indoor gym at the Bukit Canberra Integrated Community and Sports Centre.
In response to another query about the increased volume of patients in public fitness emergency departments, with bed waits of up to 50 hours, Mr. Ong said they had been busy since the beginning of the year.
The scenario worsens a wave of Covid-19, as in the two variant waves of Omicron, as well as the ongoing XBB wave, he said.
But he added that patient volumes are not driven by covid-19 patients: “You don’t see a lot of covid-19 patients, still general patients. . . or normal patients. “
However, more area is occupied by COVID-19 patients per wave, making it more complicated to allocate a bed to patients who don’t have covid-19, he said.
Ong added that the shortage of beds is the reason why the ministry works with hospitals to activate measures to mitigate the crisis in emergency departments and ensure there are enough resources and manpower to care for patients.
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He also said Americans are still vaccinating to protect themselves, even if the existing wave subsides, should another wave hit Singapore.
In response to another question about why other seniors take bivalent vaccines, Ong said bivalent vaccines have updated formulas that are more effective compared to existing COVID-19 subvariant infections. .
The first bivalent vaccine to be rolled out, the bivalent Moderna/Spikevax vaccine, was available at nine joint testing and vaccination centers across the island three days ahead of schedule on Oct. 14.
Meanwhile, Pfizer-BioNTech’s bivalent Comirnaty vaccine, which is still being evaluated, is expected to be available until the end of 2022.
First detected in August, the XBB subvariant has been discovered in more than 17 countries, Australia, Denmark, India and Japan.
While XBB is at least as transmissible as other strains circulating lately, adding BA. 5 and BA. 2. 75, the Department of Health said Oct. 15 that there is no evidence that it causes more severe disease.
This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission is required for reproduction.