Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1484790
6 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 23 NOVEMBER 2022 NEWS NEWS 58% got less sick thanks to COVID-19 protective measures Survey suggests that 79% of the Maltese were not infected with COVID-19 JAMES DEBONO MALTESE individuals were the second least likely in the EU to report getting infected with COVID-19 – second only to people in Finland – a sur- vey by Eurobarometer has re- vealed. The survey suggests that nearly 8 out of every 10 Mal- tese did not get COVID-19 and that protective measures introduced to protect the pop- ulation from the pandemic al- so contributed to a decrease in other ailments. Respondents were asked whether or not they took any antibiotics while suffering from COVID-19. The survey found that in 20 Member States, a majority of respondents replied that they did not get COVID-19. Respondents were most like- ly to say this in Finland (80%), Malta (79%), and Germany (77%), and least likely to say so in Poland (43%), Slovakia (44%), and Bulgaria (46%). Overall, the overwhelming majority of both Maltese and European respondents who suffered from COVID-19 did not take antibiotics and the vast majority of those who did, only did so with a medical pre- scription. In fact, none of the Maltese respondents who contracted COVID-19 sald that they took antibiotics without a prescrip- tion. Respondents were also asked about the impact of the COV- ID-19 pandemic on their anti- biotic use. Almost three in 10 (28%) Eu- ropeans report a lower need for antibiotics because of lower cases of illness due to strength- ened protective measures. But in Malta, the percentage of people who reported a de- creased need for antibiotics due to strengthened protective measures increases to 58%. Malta (58%) and Luxembourg (51%) top the list of countries where people reported getting less sick due to these protective measures. Respondents were also like- ly to say this in Sweden (44%), Greece (43%), Italy (42%), and Croatia (40%). They were least likely to say this in Portugal (17%), France (18%), and the Netherlands (21%). This suggests that protective measures taken to slow down the spread of COVID-19, such as masks, hand hygiene, the use of sanitizers and physical dis- tancing had a positive impact not just in stopping the spread of the COVID-19 virus but also on the possibility of contract- ing other infectious diseas- es, thus possibly reducing the need for antibiotics. The survey, which dealt with the wider topic of the use of antibiotics and awareness on anti-microbial resistance, was held between February and March 2022 and was published on Monday. Countries with largest percentage of respondents who got less sick with other ailments thanks to protective measures against COVID-19 Countries with largest percentage of respondents who did not get COVID-19