Enjoy your holidays without COVID and other infections

December marks the tradition of family reunions framed in love, a sentiment that must be translated into solidarity that provides the best health protection to the elderly, the most vulnerable sector in the face of the persistent COVID-19 pandemic and other high-potential diseases for contagion in Puerto Rico.

This week’s statistics from the Department of Health reaffirm the lethal potential of the coronavirus and its variants, especially for the elderly. The agency reported 16 COVID-19 deaths on Tuesday, bringing cumulative deaths from the virus to 5,407 from March 2020. According to the agency’s BioPortal, most of the 106 deaths recorded in the past 30 days correspond to the 80-year-old group or more, followed by the line from 70 to 79 years.

Reports from health authorities put the virus positivity rate at 22.62%. They should be received as a clear message to resume measures to avoid infecting fathers, mothers, grandmothers, grandfathers and other elderly people whose health could be seriously compromised if they contract the virus or other diseases with a high current prevalence.

Puerto Rico is now experiencing a marked increase in respiratory illnesses. The Department of Health has confirmed outbreaks of influenza and other conditions significantly affecting the pediatric population. It is urgent to double preventive efforts to protect minors. One step in this direction is to improve hygiene at home and in public places, as well as resume the use of masks and physical distancing in places where groups of people gather.

In this health challenge towards the end of 2022, it is a good sign that a significant number of people mobilized last Saturday to receive the bivalent booster of the COVID-19 vaccine. That day, 1,800 people received the booster and another 1,500 received the flu shot at six centers run by the VOCES Coalition.

Continuing to disseminate information on the benefits of the vaccine should contribute to the protection of the population. Infectologists and other medical specialists reiterate that maintaining a robust long-term inoculation network is essential. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that people five years of age and older receive a bivalent booster dose if it has been at least two months since the last COVID-19 vaccine. The updated booster dose is called a “bivalent” because it protects against both the original virus that causes COVID-19 and the omicron variant BA.4 and BA.5.

The fact that only 33.57% of the island’s population is up to date on this protection, available free of charge in many health centers and pharmacies, is worrying, as are the doses against the flu.

Proactive management to maintain health and fully enjoy the significant Christmas season activities should include cleaning yards and household and neighborhood areas where there is standing water which is ideal for the spread of the dengue-causing Aedes aegypti mosquito , Zika and chikungunya.

Puerto Rico was the second country in the Americas with the highest number of cases of severe dengue in the first 10 months of this year, according to the Pan American Health Organization. In October, the local health authority confirmed 155 hospitalizations of patients affected by this virus.

The indicators of the prevalence of the pathologies mentioned clearly show that embracing prevention at home is the way to peacefully and fully enjoy the long-awaited Christmas holidays, the farewell to 2022 and the Epiphany. In Puerto Rican tradition, these celebrations are balms to start a new year with a positive attitude. Achieving this precious goal is everyone’s responsibility.