Persons over 60 to be offered Pfizer vaccine for revaccination in Kazakhstan

At the government session chaired by Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov, the sanitary and epidemiological situation in the country was considered. Minister of Healthcare Azhar Giniyat reported on the deterioration of the sanitary and epidemiological situation in the country.

According to the minister, there has been an increase in the incidence in the world, including the largest increase in the incidence over the past week in America and amounted to 100%, Europe — 65%, in Southeast Asia — 78%, the Pacific region — 38%.

According to the WHO, in Europe over the past two weeks, out of 54 countries, 38 countries have seen an increase in the incidence. In Kazakhstan, the incidence has increased by 41% over the past two weeks.

“The epidemiological situation with coronavirus infection is characterized by a sharp deterioration. Over the past day, 4,810 cases of coronavirus infection with a positive PCR test and 79 cases with a negative PCR test have been registered. The reproductive number has increased by 2.4 times since Jan. 1 and is 2.2 in the country,” Giniyat informed.

According to the epidemiological situation assessment matrix, in the red zone are the Republic of Kazakhstan and the cities of Nur-Sultan, Shymkent, Almaty and Atyrau region, in the yellow zone — 6 regions — Aktobe, West Kazakhstan, Karaganda, Kyzylorda, Pavlodar and Mangystau regions. 7 regions are in the green zone.

The incidence of coronavirus infection over the past 2 weeks has been observed in 12 regions and has increased by 2.8 times. At the same time, over the past week, the incidence has increased in the cities of Nur-Sultan by 9.9 times, Shymkent — 3.7 times, Almaty — 2 times.

According to the Minister of Healthcare, the worsening of the epidemiological situation is directly related to the established circulation of the Omicron coronavirus variant, expressed by internal migration of the population. At the beginning of January, the Omicron variant was found in the cities of Almaty and Nur-Sultan.

The features of the Omicron variant are high contagiousness (prevalence ratio, which is 1:5), an increased risk of re-infection. In the upper respiratory tract, Omicron multiplies 70 times faster than the Delta variant. The doubling time of cases is 2-3 days, resulting in a rapid increase in the number of cases. At the same time, interim preliminary studies show that revaccination restores protection against severe forms of disease, hospitalizations and deaths up to 75%.

At the same time, it should be noted that in the republic the rate of vaccination over the past week has decreased many times and the proportion of those vaccinated over the 10 days of January increased by only 0.2% compared to December.

“Today, more than 9.4 million people have been vaccinated with the 1st component, coverage of the eligible adult population was 79.2%, more than 8.7 million people have been vaccinated with the second component, covering 75.1% of the eligible adult population. Of the total population vaccinated by the first component — 49.3%, the second component — 45.8%. Taking into account the identification of the Omicron variant, additional preventive measures have been introduced and are being implemented,” the minister informed.

Also, according to Giniyat, it is important to increase the rate of vaccination and revaccination of the population.

To protect the most vulnerable group of the population, the choice of vaccines for revaccination has been expanded. Thus, persons over 60 years of age will additionally be offered the Komirnati (Pfizer) vaccine for revaccination.

In addition, taking into account the sharp deterioration of the COVID-19 epidemiological situation, the next meeting of the Interdepartmental Commission will take additional preventive measures aimed at separating teams and reducing the risk of infection transmission in regions located in the red zone.

The ministry, taking into account the identification of the circulation and properties of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, has updated the forecast of the epidemiological situation for coronavirus infection.

So, under an optimistic scenario: with revaccination coverage of up to 100% of the subject population, widespread observance of preventive measures — up to 17.5 thousand cases per day.

According to a realistic scenario, with revaccination coverage of 70%, partial compliance with preventive measures up to 25.5 thousand cases per day.

Under the pessimistic scenario — with revaccination coverage of less than 40%, with non-compliance with preventive measures, the average daily number of registered cases is up to 40 thousand cases per day.

“The Ministry of Healthcare strongly recommends that Kazakhstanis refuse to visit crowded places, not to hold or attend collective events. Refrain from visiting relatives and receiving guests at home. Observe the mask regime not only in public places, but also on the street. I urge citizens who are not vaccinated to receive the primary course of vaccination, and those who were vaccinated 6 months ago — to be revaccinated. The life and health of our loved ones, colleagues, friends and acquaintances directly depend on our common commitment to basic preventive measures,” the minister concluded.

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