IT is now two years since the COVID-19 virus began to take a toll on the physical, mental and economic health of peoples all across the globe. Guyana is no exception. Never before in the history of the world had there been such widespread disruption of economic and social life as the COVID-19 has done and, even though there appears to be some reduction in the number of viral infections in Guyana, we are still not completely out of the woods.

This view was shared by Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) Director, Clarissa Etienne, who warns that it is too soon to lower our guard.

According to the PAHO Director, the virus is likely to linger on for a while and we have to learn to live with the virus and quickly adapt to changes.

Health Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony, has also been urging people to get vaccinated as the country continues to proactively take measures to prevent the spread of the virus. According to Minister Anthony, the current first dose rate of vaccination among the adult population stands at 84.8 per cent while 64.7 per cent has taken both doses of the vaccines.

As it relates to the adolescent population, 46.4 per cent has taken a first shot and 33.6 per cent has taken both doses. This is still not enough for there to be herd immunity so essential to, as it were, break the back of the virus.

What these figures are suggesting is that while the vast majority of the adult population has been fully vaccinated against the virus there is still a significant number of people who are still to be vaccinated, especially among the adolescent segment of the population. The situation with respect to the booster shots is even more worrying as only 53,455 persons have so far taken the shots.

Meanwhile, a new vaccine, Novovax, has now found its way in several countries. The vaccine has received emergency use authorisation by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and according to the Health Minister, uses protein similar to the spike protein which causes a reaction from the body, which, when it comes in contact with the COVID virus, would immediately recognise it and respond accordingly. The vaccine reportedly has an efficacy rate of over 90 per cent which is a significant advance in terms of fighting the effects of the virus.

Guyana is not doing badly in terms containing the COVID-19 virus which is now showing a downward trend and according to the Health Minister there are no longer any discernible COVID ‘hotspots’. This, however, should not be a reason to become complacent as the possibility of the emergence of new variants continue to exist.

Meanwhile, Dr. Anthony has confirmed the presence of the Omicron variant in the country following the return of positive samples which were sent to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA). Of the 20 samples that were sent, 19 came back positive. This must be a matter of concern, especially in light of the much higher transmissible rate of the Omicron variant.

And in a related development, the Minister had indicated that the Guyana Government is considering the procurement of an oral anti-viral COVID-19 pill to treat persons with mild symptoms of the disease. The WHO has granted approval for the use of the medication under the ’emergency use authorisation listing’ given promising results in patients with non-severe symptoms.

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease that causes respiratory illness with flu-like symptoms such as cough, fever and in more severe cases, difficulty in breathing. Globally, over six million people lost their lives since the emergence of the virus two years ago with over 452 million people being infected. In Guyana, 1224 persons died from the virus with an infection rate of 63,090 persons.

As noted by the PAHO Director, the Americas have been hit harder than any region with more than 2.6 million lives lost, nearly half of all global deaths. This, she said, is a tragedy of enormous proportions the effects of which will be felt for years to come. The pandemic still remains a threat today, especially for the Americas which accounts for 63 per cent of new global cases for the first two months of 2022.

Guyana has been doing an excellent job in making the vaccines available to the full cohort of the eligible population. As noted by Dr. Etienne, while we all would like to see the back of the COVID-19 virus, it will not go away by being optimistic but by taking the necessary precautions and by becoming fully vaccinated. The Guyana Government has been doing its part. Guyanese will also have to do theirs and the sooner the better.