91 New Cases of COVID-19 in Iceland

A total of 91 new domestic cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in Iceland yesterday, mbl.is reports. Of those diagnosed, 40 were in quarantine, 59 were fully vaccinated, and three had received one dose of vaccine, according to covid.is. Three people tested positive at the border, all of them fully vaccinated.

The 14-day incident rate per 100,000 inhabitants currently stands at 313.4. There are 17 COVID-19 patients in the hospital, five of them in intensive care.

Among the COVID-19 patients at Landspítali National University Hospital, there is one child.

Chief Epidemiologist Þórólfur Guðnason posted a statement today on covid.is, where he notes that two patients at Landspítali are on respirators and one at Akureyri Hospital, North Iceland.

He states that about 2 percent of people who test positive for COVID-19 eventually require hospitalization, and that 60 percent of them are fully vaccinated.

Booster vaccinations are continuing in Iceland, and everyone aged 60 and older will be called in for one, in addition to people with underlying conditions and first responders.

The possibility of offering the general public a booster shot is being considered. Five to six months must go by after a second shot before a booster shot is administered.

Israel, Þórólfur states, has gained more experience than other nations from the effects of a booster shot, having offered its citizens booster shots from Pfizer. An Israeli study, recently published by the medical journal Lancet, shows that a booster shot is 90 percent effective in preventing people from contracting the disease or becoming seriously ill.

Þórólfur concludes by urging people who haven’t been vaccinated to get their shots, because serious illness is five times less likely among those who are fully vaccinated, compared with those who aren’t.