Covid19 – a clear and present danger

DR MAXWELL ADEYEMI

The ongoing covid19 situation is a clear and present danger to us all. It has turned into a situation of not "if" but "when" you will be infected. Each day things seems to be getting worse and many are being gripped by fear. It’s time we all take responsibility for the mess that the situation has become, stop the blame game and rise to the occasion to find solution to save the country from further calamity.

There is an African proverb that says: "If a man sees a snake and a woman kills it, or a woman sees a snake and a man kills it, the most important goal is that the snake is dead,” and the danger is averted. I am mortified by the way we continue to blame each other about how things have turned out because of what should have been done or not done, instead of recognising the danger that puts everyone at risk. We should therefore now advance solid and beneficial plans and ideas to tackle the pandemic and put an end to the petty squabbles that help no one.

Prevention was best approach

Generally, during a pandemic and most infectious disease outbreaks, prevention is usually the best hope and is ideal, hence the great efforts directed at lock downs to keep the virus away or minimise spread. But protracted lock downs can destroy commercial and social activities and cripple an economy, which is why the collective discipline of the populace is critical to the battle we are fighting. Sadly, while many are compliant, some continue to be reckless and put the rest of the population in harms way in the name of “rights,” while others do it out of pure ignorance and selfishness.

Presently it appears we are losing the battle of prevention as the escalating number of infections daily indicates serious community spread that are out of control. The horse of prevention to subdue the virus is gradually bolting, and there is need for a serious turn around by the citizens, especially those who continue to ignore health guidelines and protocols.

Massive vaccination our ray of hope

With the virus now raging within the population, our brightest hope at the moment is achieving herd immunity in a quick time. This means we need to embark on massive vaccinations of at least 70-80 per cent of the population. To achieve this we need to educate the citizens, sufficient procurement of vaccines, and to minimise the miseducation of certain sections of the society so that vaccine hesitancy and refusal is eliminated or reduced to barest minimum.

Who should take the vaccine

Many people are concerned about if they should take the vaccine, especially because they have underlying health conditions or comorbidities. The fact that you have any of these conditions is the more reason why you should take the vaccine. Health issues compromise your ability to fight the virus if you get infected, but taking the vaccine will reduce your risk of negative outcome and increase your body’s ability to fight the virus. People with diabetes, hypertension, and cancer should not refuse the vaccines. Children, pregnant and breast-feeding women, severely immune-compromised patients are not yet cleared to take the vaccines.

Vaccine and religion

This is a sensitive issue for some people. Some Muslims premise their refusal on the fact that the vaccines may contain items prohibited for consumption by their religion, but there is no indication that these vaccines contain such items. Meanwhile, some Christians opine that the vaccines are integrated with chips and could be the Mark of the Beast. This is far-fetched as it is logistically impossible for all the various manufacturers of the vaccine in different parts of the world to have colluded within such a short time frame, and there is really no evidence to support this theory.

We therefore need to appeal to religious leaders to stop using their influence to discourage their members from being vaccinated. Likewise, people in positions of influence such as bloggers, social media activist, media personalities and community leaders with captive audiences should use their influence to encourage more vaccination in the interest of the country.

The sixth estate: sensation or solution?

The media is widely regarded as the sixth estate of the society. Sadly, in recent times, sensationalism in reporting covid19 news has taken over its potential in public education to encourage, reinforce and emphasise compliance with preventive health protocols as well as vaccination. The media has a huge role to play in this situation and I believe it should take more visible roles in teaming up with the government and other agencies in a massive education drive and advancing creative solutions. While the reporting is good for information sake, the media should endeavour to do more in the campaign to deal with this problem.

Which vaccine is best?

There are also issues of people asking which vaccine is the best, with some even opting to wait until Pfizer or Moderna vaccines become available before they get vaccinated. Their decision are based on the published efficacy rates of these vaccines – Phizer 95 per cent, Mordena 94 per cent, Novovax 69 per cent, Astra Zeneca 67 per cent, Sinopharm 78 per cent, Johnson and Johnson 66 per cent, Sputnik 92 per cent. Generally vaccines are said to be good once the efficacy is above 40 per cent.

These numbers are not a true evaluation of how effective a vaccine is, vaccines are tested in varying circumstances, in different places at different times, within different populations and ethnicities, using different inclusion and exclusion criteria. The goal of the vaccines is to remove the ability of the virus to cause havoc, to reduce the risk of severe illness, hospitalisation and death. The intention is to give the body enough possibility to prevent serious illness, so if you contract the virus it passes like a mild viral illness without severe consequences of fatality.

All approved vaccines as of now does this, as they were proven to have prevented death, severe illness and hospitalisation in the trial phases. So whichever of the vaccines you are offered right now, once it is approved, it is the best vaccine and is appropriate to take.

With each vaccinated citizen, we are closer to herd immunity, improving our chances of returning to life as normal. We need to enhance our vaccination effort while we continue to obey the set protocols.

Contact Dr Maxwell on 363-1807 or 757-5411.