2022: What will the pandemic do?

AS THE world turns to 2022, it isn't 2021 we're leaving behind but two years melded into one dizzying global trial for all humanity.

With the onset of the omicron variant, there is hopeful, albeit shaky, evidence that this latest viral remix may be less virulent than previous strains. The prayer is that a weaker variety will usurp the deadlier types, ushering an end to this pandemic. The truth is it's too soon to tell. If there's one thing scientists have learned it’s that they must be careful with their projections, lest the virus should tack sharply causing the public to doubt the science.

If TT should have learned anything from the last two years, it's this: successful pandemic management requires a multi-pronged strategy. There is no single solution to covid19. A mix of strong measures is needed to curb the destruction wreaked by this virus.

With the highest rate of infections and surging deaths to date, the authorities have the bearing of resignation. The Government's covid19 advisory team seems constipated with data. It cannot construct a coherent policy that keeps pace with trends reflected in the very numbers they chew on like large ruminants.

The Government, pressured into decisiveness, has chosen politically-radioactive vaccine mandates which, while not without merit, won't arrest the rising infections and climbing death toll in the short term. Getting the public service on board with the national fight against covid19 is crucial. However, what has become clear is vaccines cannot be the only weapon in this war. The Government, though, is yet to factor this information into its pandemic management.

Covid19 messaging is woefully outdated. Even with data from countries with high vaccination rates of significant breakthrough cases, the Ministry of Health continued to tell citizens once they get the vaccine, life as they knew it could return. So, vaccinated people hit reset, believing they'd "done their part." Weekly covid19 briefings reinforced this false sense of security.

Office work resumed en masse even though conditions that caused the spread haven't changed. Digitisation of government services hasn’t been pushed through with the urgency needed to reduce the number of bodies in public offices across the country.

Moreover, with the complicity of the media, the ministry continues to emphasise that it’s mainly people with comorbidities who are being felled by the virus. The only way this comorbidities road march can be interpreted is, "Well, they were sick, so they was going to dead anyway." Ergo, I'm healthy and vaccinated, so I'm good to go.

The ministry is fully aware of the rates of hypertension, heart disease and diabetes in the population. We are a fast food, fast-living society, yet the Health Ministry prosecutes no real public education campaign encouraging healthy diet and lifestyles. We’re now entering year three of the pandemic. Had the ministry started a nationwide campaign in the early days to get citizens to lead healthier lifestyles, that campaign would already have begun bearing results.

The WHO recently added to its covid19 messaging a “Stay Healthy to Beat Covid-19” element advising people to quit tobacco, avoid alcohol, eat healthily and be physically active. Given that we follow WHO advice with almost canonical fervour, maybe TT will finally start a campaign to encourage citizens to make healthier choices? More likely not, though.

Questions also need to be asked about treatment protocols and the quality of care given to those admitted to hospital. Are we using the best medical treatments available? Are sardines and bread and room-temperature canned channa the optimal diet for patients fighting covid19?

We keep getting told patients are going to the hospitals too late. There are, however, many accounts of people unable to get ambulance support because none are available. What are they to do? You can't "mop ah drop" if you are covid19 positive. Are the authorities aware of these realities on the ground?

It’s crucial to understand there is no magic bullet to get us out of this crisis. There are many moving parts to managing this virus. Unfortunately, the authorities seem not to have grasped this fact. The Government’s posture is it has done all it can, and there's little else it can do to contain the virus.

With no multifaceted pandemic management strategy, 2022 promises more of the two years behind us. In TT we are more dependent than most on omicron as an exit rather than what’s been masquerading as crisis management.