At a time when the COVID positivity rate has reached a worrying level in Puerto Rico, and deaths continue to occur, the correct attitude is to resort to prevention by resuming the use of masks and strengthening protection with the vaccine, thus safeguarding the most fragile, such as the elderly, and avoiding a new health crisis.
The opposite is the attitude of denial that is observed in large sectors of the population. For example, the poor reception that the so-called bivalent vaccine has had, which is the one that contains the original COVID antigens and the omicron variant. According to data published by El Nuevo Día, as of December 28, only 241,116 doses of this vaccine had been administered, meaning that only 9.31% of the population eligible to receive it were protected.
Even with the outbreak we are seeing, we may not have reached the peak that could come with Christmas festivities and events, still missing the Three Kings Day celebrations and the big event of San Sebastián street parties.
The positivity rate, which exceeds 31% and refers to the number of positive cases in the laboratory results, may not show the real extent of the infections, taking into account that many people carry out home tests and do not go to the doctor, and do not warn not even the people they come into contact with.
Nor can the situation in China be ignored. In that country, the first cases occurred three years ago, officially in December 2019, and then spread throughout the planet.
Scientists believe that now, with millions of cases overwhelming that Asian country’s hospitals again, causing chaos much like it did in 2020, it’s possible the virus will mutate again, which would pose a threat to the entire planet. This has been hypothesized by many European countries which already impose special checks on travelers from China.
It is true that many citizens have different doses of vaccines and that, contrary to the times when the pandemic emerged, we are better prepared, both in terms of protective material and drugs that prevent the disease from leading to hospitalizations or deaths. However, there are still many people at risk and Puerto Rico cannot afford to face another hospital crisis, with medical staff doubling shifts and running out of patient care.
The moment is extremely cautious and health authorities must consider measures to deal with the virus if the situation worsens. COVID-19 continues to pose a real threat, both in terms of human suffering, saturation of the health system and damage to the economy in general. We already know that a pandemic has many facets and absenteeism from work is one of them.
When the number of cases was declining last year, there was talk of a new normal that we might have to get used to. The new normal should be this: don’t let your guard down and protect ourselves better with vaccines and masks. And, above all, not to put parents and grandparents at risk, and all people with respiratory diseases, including children.
Let us also remember that there is a “long” COVID that continues to cause ailments, for months or years, in patients who have already passed the acute phase. Each, without extremes or panic, must take responsibility for protecting themselves and taking care of their loved ones. Government has a responsibility to insist on prevention to push society to get rid of the attitude of ignoring what is in sight.
