Two cases of Mis-C after covid19 in Tobago children

Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Secretary of Health, Wellness and Social Protection Dr Faith BYisrael has confirmed that the island has two cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (Mis-C).

She spoke at a joint news conference hosted virtually by her division and the Division of Education, Research and Technology on Monday.

She said: “We have a situation in Tobago where we have identified at least two confirmed cases of children who were covid19-positive and who became very, very, very ill...at least two confirmed cases of what is known as Mis-C."

She said Mis-C "in essence says your respiratory system – your heart and your lungs, all these different parts of your body become inflamed." Mis-C, she said, appears a couple of weeks after the initial infection.

She is encouraging parents to pay particular attention to their children.

“If your child – particularly if you know that they’ve had covid19 and they have an ongoing fever...with stomach pain, bloodshot eyes, diarrhoea, dizziness, skin rash or vomiting, please contact your doctor or your paediatrician.”

Mis-C, she said, can be treated, and the sector has been successful in treating the cases on the island.

She appealed to parents to get their children vaccinated.

“We have the vaccines for children over 12 – 12-17, those vaccines have been available. If you’ve gotten vaccinated already, or if your child has already been vaccinated, the boosters are available.”

On Monday, donations of covid19 vaccines for children aged five-11 arrived in Trinidad and Tobago from Spain.

“We’ve been vaccinating the 12-17 (year-olds) and in short order, hopefully by the end of this week, by the middle to end of this week, we will have the vaccines that are available for children five years and over.”

Referring to the declining vaccination numbers, she said: “We are going to continue working with our teachers, principals, schools, children, paediatricians, communities to continue providing the correct information so that parents can make the informed choice to get their child vaccinated.”

Secretary in the Division of Education, Research and Technology Zorisha Hackett said to date 2,510 students are partially vaccinated, and 2,025 fully vaccinated.