A resuscitator near a ventilatorMOSCOW, Feb. 1 Japanese doctors report a marked increase in the number of hospitalizations patients aged 60 years and over with acute pneumonia after infection with the «omicron» strain of coronavirus, Express writes. Specialists at the Fujimino Medical Center found an increase in the number of patients in this age group, with more than half of them hospitalized with pneumonia and needed artificial ventilators ventilation of the lungs. «Hospitalized patients are getting older and developing severe symptoms,» Akira Kano, director of the medical institution, quoted the publication as saying. According to him, acute pneumonia manifests itself in older patients who have been vaccinated for a long time. Kano added that claims of «softening» the «omicron» are far from what he has seen in practice. The B.1.1.529 coronavirus mutation, also known as the omicron strain, was identified in Botswana and South Africa in late November. It carries dozens of transformations in the S-protein necessary for the pathogen to infect cells. According to scientists, many changes in the genome indicate a high transmissibility of this species and resistance to protective antibodies. Omicron has been identified in more than 100 countries, including Russia.
