The medical director, Dr. Roshan Parasram, said that although Trinidad and Tobago has not registered any new cases of Covid-19 in samples collected over a three-day period, this does not mean that the country is out of danger.
Parasram was speaking during yesterday’s virtual media conference organized by the Ministry of Health.
On Friday, the ministry reported that no new cases were detected in samples collected from 2 to 4 February.
Parasram said yesterday that 231 samples were tested in that period.
“It’s a good sign,” he said. “During that specific period, we would have tested about 231 samples … these samples would have been taken from individuals who came to the facility with some kind of virus-like symptoms belonging to the category of an acute viral disease or acute respiratory disease or respiratory disease serious. In these individuals, of all of them who were tested, none of them tested positive during this period. “
Parasram reminded the country that the virus is still circulating. “It doesn’t mean that we don’t have Covid in the country. We have 230 active cases at the moment and I am sure we have people coming to the facilities with symptoms similar to the viral ones that will be tested and, possibly, tomorrow, we will catch a few more cases …
First line of defense vaccine
Regarding preparations to run the vaccination program, Parasram said the ministry is doing a mock exercise with senior staff on how vaccines will be distributed from storage to delivery to patients.
“We worked through the process from arrival, to the administration, on our national vaccine plan.”
Also speaking during the briefing, Professor of Immunology at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Michele Monteil, encouraged the public to obtain the vaccine when it becomes available.
She said that this is how the world can begin to return to some appearance of normalcy.
“We really need to do two things: we have to provide the majority of our population with a good level of protective immunity against (virus) and we need to have a low transmission of the virus from person to person. The best way to achieve this is through vaccination. “
Monteil noted that Israel has already vaccinated 90 percent of its elderly population over 60, using the Pfizer vaccine.
“And what they were able to tell us is that the number of infections after vaccination in the population dropped sharply. So there is real evidence that the Pfizer vaccine is working, ”she said.
The District Health Visitor of the Eastern Regional Health Authority, Penny Ramlagan, also emphasized the importance of vaccination.
She noted that vaccines have historically been effective and have successfully fought many other deadly diseases.
“Vaccination is our first line of defense,” she said.
“Throughout history, vaccination has been our ammunition in combating vaccine-preventable diseases. We don’t vaccinate just to protect our children, we vaccinate to protect our future, our grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
“The Covid-19 vaccine is an important line of defense in the fight against the Covid-19 virus. The Covid-19 vaccine, together with adherence to the Covid-19 protocols, such as wearing a mask, social distance, hand washing, hand hygiene, will help us win this war against Covid-19. “