https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20220224/k10013498901000.html
Omicron: "Vaccine" and thorough countermeasures for sudden deterioration of people in their 40s
From an article published on February 24
In this 6th wave of the spread of the Omicron variant of the virus, it was believed that most of the patients who became seriously ill were elderly. However, at a hospital in Tokyo that has been treating critically ill patients, some people in their 40s and 50s have suddenly become seriously ill with deteriorating breathing conditions.
At the National Center for Global Health and Medicine, which plays a central role in the treatment of patients with severe cases of the new corona, around 40 to 50 people have been hospitalized since the beginning of this month, and around 5 of them are in severe condition, and the number has been increasing in the past 2 weeks.
Since January of this year, when the Omicron variant spread, many elderly people in their 70s or older became seriously ill as their chronic illnesses worsened due to the infection, but in the past 2 weeks, 2 people in their 40s and 50s have become seriously ill due to pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus itself, so it is not only the elderly who have become seriously ill.
Dr. Shinichiro Morioka of the center said, "We have seen a number of people in their 50s and 40s with underlying diseases or who have not received any vaccine suddenly see a deterioration in their respiratory condition due to Coronavirus Pneumonia, which we, in the medical field, feel is extremely worrying. The number of newly infected people in Tokyo has peaked out, but the severity of the patients is increasing, and I believe that the peak will come in the near future. It will be important for each of us not to underestimate the Omicron variant, but to take it as our own problem, and to live our lives by taking care of infection control; first by getting 2 doses of vaccine and then a 3rd booster dose."