PAHO: Keep following covid19 recommendations

EVEN though there has been advancement towards vaccines for covid19, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said there must be continuous adherence to the covid19 stringent measures.

So said PAHO director Dr Carrissa Etienne during a webinar on Wednesday.

Etienne said there had been an increase in covid 19 deaths in the Americas of nearly 30 per cent in November.

She said while the world is moving closer to an effective covid 19 vaccine, "At this time we must continue to rely on the public health measures that have helped curb previous outbreaks. Rely on stay-at-home measures, the practising of social distancing and the wearing of masks.”

Etienne said vigorous government action is also needed to ensure access to testing and identifying cases.

She said PAHO had seen record-setting daily covid19 cases in North America, and in Canada reports of outbreaks are occurring in nursing homes, assisted living facilities and hospitals.

Etienne said people of African descent are disproportionately affected by covid19 and are more likely to die from the virus. The African population, she said, must protect themselves.

She said the Afro-descendant populations are on the front lines of the fight against covid19 and among the essential workers who power sanitation systems, run public transport, and care for the elderly.

Dr Marcos Espinal, who also spoke, said vaccines will not be made available immediately to everyone in the world.

“We still need to keep implementing the actions recommended to keep the curve flat as much as possible.

"To vaccinate a sufficient number of people will take time. But also we don’t know yet if we will have to vaccinate people every year, (as with) the flu, so there are many questions.”