In Europe and the US, 'Omicron Peak' Deaths Reach Highest Level 20 Days Later

WHO COVID-19 Dashboard US, UK, France, Japan Counts
Experts "Golden Time Missed to Prepare for Surge in Severe Cases and Deaths"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-won] In overseas countries where the Omicron wave is considered to have passed its peak, it has been confirmed that it took an average of about 20 days from the day the number of new daily cases peaked to the day the highest number of deaths occurred.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) COVID-19 dashboard as of the 22nd, in four countries?the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, and France?the peak number of Omicron cases was followed by the peak number of deaths after an average of 19.5 days.

In the United States, after 1,294,784 confirmed cases were recorded on January 12, 4,107 deaths occurred 22 days later on February 3. The United Kingdom reached its peak with 275,591 new cases on January 6, and 17 days later, on January 23, recorded the highest number of deaths during the Omicron wave (308 deaths).

France’s Omicron case peak was on January 26, with 500,563 new cases. Fourteen days later, on February 9, the daily death toll reached 654, marking the 'death peak.' Japan peaked on February 4 with 103,038 new cases, and 25 days later, on the 1st of this month, recorded the highest number of new deaths at 363.

Looking at these overseas cases, considering that the domestic peak of confirmed cases was on the 17th (621,281 confirmed cases), it is expected that the highest number of severe cases and deaths in Korea will occur around April 5-6. Currently, the number of domestic COVID-19 confirmed cases has decreased to the 300,000?400,000 range after reaching a record high on the 17th. Jeon Hae-cheol, the 2nd Deputy Head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety), said on the 21st, "We are struggling to get through the Omicron peak." Son Young-rae, Head of the Social Strategy Division of the Central Accident Response Headquarters, also stated, "If this (decline in confirmed cases) trend is repeatedly confirmed until Wednesday, when the weekend effect disappears, it can be considered that the peak has passed."

Experts unanimously agreed that it is 'already too late' to prepare for a surge in severe cases and deaths after the peak. Baek Soon-young, Emeritus Professor at the Catholic University College of Medicine, said, "The number of deaths and severe cases, currently in the 300s and 1,000s respectively, could double in two weeks," adding, "Even if we try to increase severe care beds, the number of medical staff is limited, and many medical staff are also testing positive for COVID-19, so expanding beds will be difficult."

Professor Baek also explained, "If there were hundreds of thousands of Paxlovid doses, it would help reduce severe cases, but the current shortage of supply is a problem," and added, "The alternative devised is Lagevrio, but since national release approval takes several weeks, it is already too late."

Kim Woo-joo, Professor of Infectious Diseases at Korea University Guro Hospital, also said, "It is true that Lagevrio helps to some extent, but its effectiveness is lower compared to Paxlovid, and it has not yet even been approved," adding, "Even if it takes one to two weeks, it is too late."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.