SA Health reveals ages of Covid fatalities, but not vaccination status
SA Health says it will tell the public how old patients who die of Covid were but not if they were vaccinated or if they had Omicron or Delta.
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The Covid vaccination status of South Australians who have died while infectious is being kept secret.
SA Health has reported a total of 110 coronavirus-related deaths during the pandemic, including another five on Saturday.
But their vaccination status is being kept under wraps despite similar data being published interstate.
An SA Health breakdown shows the most deaths were patients aged in their 80s, followed by people in their 90s and then their 70s.
Figures show that two people aged over 100 died while infectious, while three deaths were reported in people in their 30s. The youngest, 13-month old Dakota Nenke, died suddenly in her sleep last month.
Authorities were unable to say which strain of Covid, the dangerous Delta strain or the more transmissible Omicron variant, was responsible for the individual deaths.
Officials said this was because special Whole Genome Sequencing testing had not occurred on all cases, meaning it would present an incomplete picture.
SA Health could not reveal the location of the deaths, which varied from hospitals to aged care nursing homes.
Before borders reopened on November 23, just four people with Covid had passed away.
Labor Health spokesman Chris Picton said detailed statistics on the road toll were released “to help people know what precautions to take to keep themselves safe”.
“Providing statistical data on deaths could help us to understand why SA sadly now has higher deaths per capita than most other jurisdictions,“ he said.
Chief public health officer, Professor Nicola Spurrier, defended the secrecy.
She said getting vaccinated against a “serious and often unpredictable disease” was the best defence against death.
She said with the pain of bereaved families was raw “we will take every effort not to cause additional grief through publicly providing details about their loved ones”.
Doctors: Public is the true front line
They have been hailed as our frontline medical heroes, the men and women who’ve placed themselves in danger every day to treat the state’s most critical Covid-19 patients.
But on the eve of this week’s two-year anniversary of the state’s pandemic, the Royal Adelaide Hospital’s medicos have a key message: you are the frontline in fighting this invisible enemy, and that battle is not yet over.
They urged people to get vaccinated, practice social distancing and hand hygiene, and to wear a mask.
And they vowed all patients would receive world-class care regardless of their beliefs or circumstances.
“Covid-19 is a disease to be fought in the community,” said the head of the Royal Adelaide Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit, Krish Sundararajan, 44.
“We often get told we’re frontline clinicians, when actually we’re the last line of defence. The frontline is out in the public domain.”
Since borders reopened on November 23 last year, 89 patients have been admitted to the RAH’s ICU.
There are currently 29 ICU patients, including three in induced comas on ventilators.
Doctors use three tiers of ventilator breathing for an infectious patient – highflow nasal oxygen, non-invasive masks or a tube down a throat while sedated.
Dr Sundararajan, a specialist for 22 years, said it was too early to say what effects Omicron or Delta had on patients.
But early results show while multiple organ failure was common in Delta cases, Omicron patients tended to have issues with their lungs and breathing.
“We’re seeing patients who are presenting very, very unwell,” he said.
“We seem to be noticing that more of those patients who are unvaccinated than ... who are vaccinated.
“The severity of the disease and (its) complexity is certainly less in those patients who are vaccinated.
“The message should be loud and clear: science is our best friend. And we should trust in science.”
The RAH is drafting new visitor guidelines to allow families to safely visit loved ones who are severely ill with Covid or dying.
RAH infectious disease unit nurse manager Alice Read, 35, said her highly trained teams had prevented 65 patients from needing ICU treatment.
“It hasn’t been easy, that’s for sure,” she said.
“The camaraderie and dedication that our staff have shown has just been incredible and something I’m so damn proud of.”
Emergency Department nurse unit chief Nyssa Griffin, 36, said Covid did not discriminate with cases.
“It doesn’t matter what your health status is,” she said.
“You just don’t know how your body is going to react to the virus.
“The biggest thing you can do ... is get vaccinated.”
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