Data provided by the Ministry of Health over the last eight days underlines the gravity of the current wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and the urgent need for those who haven’t been vaccinated to come forward.
Between September 18 and September 25, the Ministry of Health announced 48 deaths of persons with COVID-19. This is an astounding figure and the daily mortality rate from a single affliction has no comparison with any period in the recent history of the country.
Of the 48 persons who succumbed with the virus in their system, 39 were unvaccinated – 81%. Of the remainder, five were partially vaccinated, one was fully vaccinated and the status of three was unknown. These figures clearly underline that if you have been fully vaccinated you are unlikely to become infected by the virus if you were you have a very good chance of withstanding its ravages.
The number of daily infections has also risen dramatically, driven in all likelihood by the presence of the Delta variant of the virus which the Ministry of Health is still inexplicably unable to formally confirm. Between September 18 and 25, a total of 1835 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported for a daily average of 229.
If one were to take the comparable eight days in March this year, the dramatic deterioration of the situation is evident. Between March 18 and 25, the Ministry of Health announced just 11 COVID deaths. The total number of new infections over the eight days was 576 or a daily average of 72 cases.
Reams of pages have been devoted to trying to convince the public that vaccination is the only avenue out of the pandemic. Up to Saturday, at least 754 persons here had perished from COVID since March 2020 though that figure is likely a conservative one. Hundreds of families have been left in dire upheaval and disarray as a result of these deaths. What more convincing is needed that they must protect themselves, their family and community?
Luckily, Guyana has an ample supply of COVID-19 vaccines unlike a number of other countries. There should be no hesitancy about coming forward.
