If it generally causes less severe symptoms than Delta, the Omicron variant, much more contagious, has again filled the service of this doctor within the University Hospital of Bellvitge, one of the most important in Catalonia (north- east of Spain).

Almost all of the beds (40 out of 44) are occupied by Covid patients.

Catalonia, one of the most populated regions of the country (7.7 million inhabitants), is currently one of the most affected by the new wave of the epidemic, the sixth in Spain.

More than 42% of intensive care beds there are occupied by Covid patients, the highest level in Spain, where the average is around 23%.

"Very difficult"

The pace never slows in the intensive care unit of this establishment, where staff must rush to assist a patient in respiratory distress.

About 40% of the patients treated there are not vaccinated, in a country which is nevertheless a champion of vaccination in Europe, with more than 90% of people over 12 vaccinated.

A patient profile that is not always easy to manage.

"These are patients who deny the disease and even deny the treatment," said Santiago Gallego, head nurse of intensive care.

The stigmata of two years of pandemic are visible among these caregivers facing unprecedented stress.

And who are also affected by the virus.

Since December 1, 600 hospital employees have been on leave because of the Covid.

If this wave is less harsh than the previous ones in terms of hospital saturation, "the teams are exhausted, especially because of the uncertainty", deplores Gloria Romero, head nurse in pulmonology, another service caring for patients in a less condition. serious.

"Will this be the last wave or will we have a seventh? The caregivers are marked. Until when are we going to be in this situation?", She continues.

The explosion of cases caused by Omicron has forced the establishment to ban visits again, and patients in serious condition are struggling to survive without a loved one to hold their hand.

"It's very hard physically, but especially emotionally, because we don't see the end of it", confides, with sobs in her voice, Elena Cabo, physiotherapist in intensive care.

Not comparable with the flu

However, hospital staff cling to the hope brought for several months by vaccination, "the only thing really effective in preventing" severe forms of the disease and "which no one denies has had an impact ", says Dr. Máñez.

Without the current vaccination rate, "we would certainly be in a much worse situation than the one we had two years ago", during the first wave of the pandemic which traumatized Spain, where more than 91,000 people are dead in total from Covid.

The current wave, which may have reached its peak in Catalonia, also gives hope for a possible evolution of Covid into an endemic disease.

“The people we hospitalize are less young, have more (prior health) problems, it starts to look a little more like a usual virus,” said Mikel Sarasate, pulmonologist at the hospital.

But if the Spanish government is considering setting up medium-term epidemiological surveillance more similar to that of the flu, this doctor considers this debate premature.

“The flu, which is the closest disease (to Covid) that we know, does not attack patients so hard and with the same severity, he warns.

© 2022 AFP