Romania's daily count of COVID-19 infections is 5-7 times higher than the official figures, according to estimates made by local healthcare group MedLife. According to its studies, Romania is already facing 35,000 COVID-19 cases per day, much more than the around 7,000 daily cases officially confirmed by tests.

Thus, given that most infections and deaths are among unvaccinated, the medical group believes that the authorities should focus on increasing the vaccination rates, especially among the vulnerable groups, in addition to taking steps for the third dose.

MedLife announced the final results of the third phase of its study aimed at assessing the body's immune response to COVID-19 vaccination. According to the analyzed data, almost 80% of vaccinated people still have a protective level of antibodies against severe forms of infection six months after the second dose.

Moreover, the share of people who tested positive for COVID-19 in the first six months after vaccination represents less than 2% of the total sample.

The data analyzed by MedLife specialists also indicated that women have a higher level of anti-S (anti-Spike IgG) antibodies six months after the second dose, in a higher proportion than men (85% women vs 69% men).

According to the same study, those who recovered from the infection and received a vaccine have a higher level of anti-S antibodies than those who only got the vaccine.

Meanwhile, chronic health conditions were found to interfere with the level of anti-S antibodies, such patients having lower antibody values after vaccination. In fact, the MedLife study showed that only half of those who suffer from at least 2 chronic conditions still have a level of anti-S antibodies that suggest protection against severe forms of COVID-19, while 8 out of 10 people without such health problems still have a comparable antibody titer six months after the second dose. Patients over 50, who have diabetes, obesity, oncological diseases, cardiovascular or lung diseases, are the most vulnerable.

According to MedLife, people over the age of 50, especially men, who have diabetes, obesity, cancer, cardiovascular or lung disease should be the first to get the third dose of vaccine.

"Our findings should be of interest not only for vaccinated people but especially for the unvaccinated. The number of infections is growing rapidly. Officially we have over 7,000 cases a day. But if we look at the data that resulted from MedLife studies, as a result of lower testing at the national level, the actual figures are actually 5-7 times higher. So today, we are already talking about 35,000 cases a day," said Mihai Marcu, CEO and president MedLife Group.

"This data combined with the fact that almost 80% of Delta strain infections and 91% of deaths are in unvaccinated people should be an imminent warning signal not only for the authorities but for all of us. If we continue at this pace, we risk reaching hundreds of thousands of cases a day, relatively soon," he added.

According to the MedLife CEO, given that vaccinated people have a low risk of developing severe forms in case of infection with the Delta strain, vaccination and compliance with protection measures are essential to "overcome this challenge."

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

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