The Peruvian population remains impacted by the evolving nature of COVID-19

The vaccine against COVID-19 has been and is a very important tool to control the pandemic Worldwide. The first vaccines provided protection against the parent strain (Wuhan), but over the last three years, the virus it has been evolving. Proof of this is the variant appearance as omicronthe same one that still remains with different sublineages.

Peru has recently made important progress in protecting the virus with the approval of DIGEMID for the bivalent vaccine from the US laboratory, Moderna. This vaccine, the most up-to-date on the market, has the messenger RNA platform that allows it to be adapted in record time as the virus evolves.

For Dr. Pablo Bonvehí, Infectious Physician, member of the Immunization Technical Advisory Group of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), it is important that the population reinforce protection against COVID 19 with vaccines; even if they have already been infected. “COVID disease generates protection that is not permanent; it is only transitory. The bivalent vaccine reinforces the protection” held.

LOOK: Stimulate, brush, play: Children’s dental care starts from newborn

And it is that, according to Dr. Bonhevi, both non-governmental organizations, health authorities and governments must inform about the risks of not being vaccinated. “Vaccination seeks to avoid complications that lead people to hospitalization or have a more serious consequence, such as death. Above all, in vulnerable or higher risk groups, health personnel, pregnant women, etc. We have to focus on these groups.”.

For his part, Rolando Pajón, director of Laboratorios Moderna, stressed that the bivalent vaccine’s main objective is to potentially broaden the body’s immune response and improve the durability of neutralizing antibodies to better respond to worrisome variants as they arise.

“COVID-19 today represents the fourth cause of death in the world, the virus has not disappeared and it is still a trigger for much more serious diseases. Most deaths associated with COVID-19 occur in older adults, who have weakened immunity. However, people who have not completed the vaccination schedule are also at risk, ”she said.

Sequels of Covid -19 are prolonged and continue to affect the health of Peruvians

The sequelae after recovery from acute COVID-19 continue to be reported and have become a growing public health concern, said Belinda González, Medical Manager of Tecnofarma for Moderna.

Dr. González explains that the persistence of at least one symptom for up to 12 weeks in patients who have suffered from COVID-19 would be called prolonged or persistent COVID. The most frequent symptoms include fatigue, shortness of breath with activity, persistent cough, headache, decrease or loss of taste and smell, depression, memory disorders, sleep, prolonged fever, among others.

These conditions are seen more frequently in patients discharged from the ICU, elderly and with comorbidities such as diabetes, hypertension, obesity, among others. However, patients with mild symptoms and no history of disease can also suffer from it. So about prolonged COVID there is a lot that we have to study and understand.

A study published by the British magazine The Lancet, at the end of August 2021, confirmed that 49% of patients who had been admitted to hospital for COVID-19 still suffered at least one sequelae of the disease 12 months after suffering it. . Of the 1,276 subjects analyzed in the study, 30% suffered from shortness of breath on exertion, and 26% suffered from depression or anxiety one year after hospital discharge.

RODOLFO ORELLANA IS ONE STEP AWAY FROM BEING RELEASED