Get vaccinated; don’t let the virus catch you napping

Amid the increasing number of Covid-19 patients and Covid-related deaths, the Sri Lankan Government, which began its battle against the Covid-19 virus in March last year, has now been compelled to fight against its various mutations, the latest being India’s Delta variant, which is said to be more virulent and easily transmissible than those that initially invaded this country.

Meanwhile, Reuters in a report quoted the US Centres for Disease Control (CDC) as saying the war against COVID-19 has changed course because of the highly contagious Delta variant and proposes a clearer message, mandatory vaccines for health workers and a return to universal masking.

An internal CDC document said the variant, first detected in India and now dominant across the globe, is as contagious as chickenpox and far more contagious than the common cold or flu. It can be passed on even by vaccinated people, and may cause more serious disease than earlier coronavirus strains.

The document, titled “Improving communications around vaccine breakthrough and vaccine effectiveness”, said the variant required a new approach to help the public understand the danger -- including making clear that unvaccinated people were ten times more likely than those who are vaccinated to become seriously ill or die.

Recommended preventative measures consist of making vaccines mandatory for healthcare professionals; protect the vulnerable and the universal wearing of face masks.

“High viral loads suggest an increased risk of transmission and raised concern that, unlike with other variants, vaccinated people infected with Delta can transmit the virus,” CDC head Rochelle Walensky said in a statement while World Health Organization (WHO) Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said health systems in several countries were now being overwhelmed.”We have the tools to stop this virus, but on current trends, we expect the total number of cases to pass 200 million within the next two weeks,” he said.

The WHO Country Office for Sri Lanka said COVID-19 cases are rising globally including in Sri Lanka and cautioned that this was driven by the highly transmissible Delta variant, increased social mixing/mobility, inconsistent Public Health and Social Measures (PHSM) and inequitable vaccination.

“Hard-won gains are in jeopardy and health systems overwhelmed,” the WHO in Sri Lanka said while almost four million COVID-19 cases globally were reported to the WHO last week.

Be that as it may, the Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) has written to the Health Services Director General Dr. Asela Gunawardena saying several of its branch unions had informed that they had observed an upward trend in the number of COVID-infected patients.

It said, to make matters worse, significant numbers of health staff including doctors were found among those infected with the virus even after receiving both doses of the Covishield vaccine.

The GMOA said certain countries had decided on injecting a third or booster dose of the vaccine to healthcare workers especially to protect them from the new variants, which are a grave global concern.

The government -- currently caught up in the midst of restraining a ravaging pandemic on the one hand and the urgent need to resuscitate the troubled economy on the other, aptly described by a reader as being akin to that of a mountain climber trapped between a rock and a hard place -- had decided to open up the country with public servants being directed to report to work from Monday and lifting the ban on inter-provincial travel.

This by no means is an indication that the country has turned the corner nor is it an indication that the virus has been eradicated. In such a situation when it is inevitable that there would be thousands of workers travelling to Colombo and the suburbs to attend to their duties there is no room for complacency but to remain vigilant and adhere, even more stringently than before, to health guidelines -- such as the washing of hands, wearing of face masks, the avoidance of public gatherings and refraining from venturing out of home for non-essential reasons.

Notwithstanding the hiccups that dogged the early stages of its vaccination programme, the government now appears to have got its act together with the process moving ahead smoothly and efficiently via the several vaccination-centres set up for the convenience of the public. As such there is no reason why people should miss out on getting themselves vaccinated, being aware that vaccines are not only for our personal safety, but also for the safety of those we come in contact with. So get vaccinated and do not allow the virus catch you napping!