August 1, 2023 – Schools are open, masks are off for many, and residents are hugging instead of bumping elbows; it is a stark contrast to the tentative uber-cautious reopening seen in 2022, following historic worldwide lockdowns because of COVID-19. Back then, masks were a strict requirement for many, social distancing was in effect and sanitizers were a must for entering any public building.

The message from the World Health Organization is that while Covid-19 is no longer a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, it’s still present and still deadly. Exacerbating that is the fact that the vaccines, which gave so many the confidence to interact freely with others, are known to wane and the waning effect of vaccines was of serious concern for Health professionals, and internationally, regionally and locally, the intake of boosters was heavily encouraged as a way to protect lives by lessening the severity of infection if it occurred. But booster uptake to strengthen vaccination has been extremely poor across the Caribbean region and generally low elsewhere, leaving residents vulnerable to infection.

The New York Times Vaccine Tracker says 72.2 percent of the world’s population was fully vaccinated but less than half that number had an additional dose (booster 1), and the number of people who progressed to the second booster is even lower.

Despite these obvious points of concern, there is evidence that residents at all levels are less restricted in 2023. In an absence of new variants of concern that are not offshoots of Omicron, many protocols have melted away and with them the rigid sense of vigilance against touching and interacting with others. This is despite the fact that many residents are technically barely protected against severe disease. Governments across the world have loosened COVID era rules for travel and spacing, from earlier countries like Jamaica and the Dominican Republic, to the more cautious and restriction heavy areas like China.

Also concerning is that as residents and governments have become more relaxed and data sources are disappearing. The White House Covid team in the US has been ended, Covid-19 charts in the Turks and Caicos are less frequent than before and authorities like the WHO are warning that residents are testing less and less. It means reporting is not as accurate as it was in the height of the pandemic.

While authorities still urge caution, it’s no longer enforced, rather encouraged. Cases globally are on the decline the WHO says but they also say “currently, reported cases do not accurately represent infection rates due to the reduction in testing and reporting globally.

Staff Writer

July 31, 2023 – Dengue is on the rise and the region of the Americas is most affected according to the World Health Organization (WHO) with nearly THREE million suspected and confirmed cases this year.

In an update on July 19th, the WHO described the outbreaks as of ‘significant magnitude’ have been recorded regionally. The numbers seen in the first seven months already eclipse the entire year of 2022 which saw 2.8 million cases. Of the cases this year, 45 percent were lab confirmed.

The number is dangerously close to the highest year on record (2019), which saw 3.1 million cases.

Thankfully, the number of severe cases are extremely low with only 0.13 percent classified as severe dengue. The death rate is also low, recorded at 0.04 percent or 1,302 deaths. The worst affected areas remain in South America, specifically Brazil, Peru and Bolivia.

The WHO is warning however, that the regional risk of outbreak is high because of the high prevalence of the mosquitos (especially Aedes Aegypti) which are carriers.

The Turks and Caicos has already completed one round of mosquito fogging exercises this summer in an attempt to control the vectors that spread dengue fever throughout the population.

Dengue, also called break-bone fever, spreads from mosquitoes to people. The WHO says most people who get dengue won’t have symptoms. But for those that do, the most common symptoms are high fever, headache, body aches, nausea and rash.

In order to lower your risk of dengue, you must avoid mosquito bites.

Effective ways include sleeping under mosquito nets, using mosquito repellents and preventing mosquito breeding by getting rid of garbage that can facilitate standing water collection and caring for drains properly so they don’t clog.

Staff Writer

#TrinidadandTobago, July 17, 2023 – It is an unfortunate reality for Trinidad and Tobago as they have now recorded the first case of the Monkeypox Virus.

The infected individual according to the Ministry of Health, is a middle aged male with travel related history.

He was tested on Tuesday July 11th, and the sample sent to the Caribbean Public Health Agency’s (CARPHA) laboratory through the Trinidad Public Health Lab.

Taking action, the Ministry said the County Medical Officer of Health (CMOH) has started the local public health response, which includes contact tracing.

Trinidad and Tobago now joins the global community that has had MonkeyPox cases as expressed by the World Health Organisation’s update as of July 4th, 2023, that 88,144 Mpox cases have been detected globally amongst 112 countries. Also, there have been a total of 149 deaths.

The Ministry reminded the public that the virus is spreading worldwide as we speak, and that it is important to maintain good hygiene practices such as hand washing or sanitising where appropriate.

The vaccine is currently available in Trinidad and Tobago but will, at this time, be used for positive cases only.

The Ministry expressed that it will continue to provide updates to the public as necessary.

Staff Writer 

June 18, 2023 – Forecasters are watching a system in the Atlantic with a very high chance of development but residents should be paying attention to the temperature as well according to The Bahamas Department of Meteorology.

In a weather update on Sunday morning, Magnetic Media was told “residents should avoid prolonged sun exposure and remain hydrated due to extremely high heat indices.”

As for the tropical wave, foresters say it has almost a 90 percent chance of development in the next few days making it very likely the region will see its third tropical depression of the year and possibly its second tropical storm.

The US National Hurricane Centre says showers and thunderstorms continue to show signs of organization in association with a tropical wave located several hundred miles southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands.

Environmental conditions appear conducive for additional development, and a tropical depression is likely to form over the next day or two.

There’s no concrete path yet predicted for the wave but thunderstorms are expected for the Southeastern Bahamas including the Turks and Caicos this week. Flooding in low lying areas is possible. Even with the rain the department stresses that the heat will not let up. Temperatures in the high eighties are expected and the forecast for the TCI is ‘hot’.

Magnetic Media would like to acquaint residents with the World Health Organization’s tips for keeping safe during extreme temperatures; they include:

• Move to the coolest room in the home, especially at night.
• If it is not possible to keep your home cool, spend 2-3 hours of the day in a cool place (such as an airconditioned public building).
• Avoid going outside during the hottest time of the day.
• Avoid strenuous physical activity if you can. If you must do strenuous activity, do it during the coolest part of the day, which is usually in the morning between 04:00 and 07:00.
• Stay in the shade.
• NEVER leave children or animals in parked vehicles.

Staff Writer

#Guyana, June 12, 2023 – The number of people taking the HPV vaccine  is low in Guyana, a concerning reality as expressed by Dr. Frank Anthony, Health Minister

HPV, which means human papillomavirus, is  sexually transmitted and can cause a range of health issues, including genital warts and cancer.

Authorities highlighted the vaccine serves as protection from HPV infections and cervical  pre-cancers.

Despite the known fact that cervical cancer is the second most common cancer affecting women in Guyana, not enough people are taking their responsibility to get the vaccine according to Anthony, speaking at the launch of the national expansion of the HEARTS Initiative for the management of cardiovascular diseases.

He pointed out that since the introduction of the program, the number of vaccinated people remains low.

“This is something, I recall HPV vaccination was started…a long time ago. Up to now, we have not been able to scale it up to where it ought to be.”

He further urges the country to encourage more people to get vaccinated, emphasize that it needed to help prevent cervical cancer.

“How are we going to prevent cervical cancer from happening if we don’t have a broad base programme?” he said.

Anthony continued to confront the lack of proper resource usage to effect change that is how your vaccination rate and low cases of cervical cancer.

“It’s not that we don’t have the tools to prevent, it’s that we’re not implementing the tools to the scale that we need to implement it, to make that impact and to bring that change.”

According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, all HPV vaccines protect against at least HPV types 16 and 18, which places individuals at the greatest risk of developing cervical cancer.

The WHO says since the beginning of the epidemic, 84.2 million [64.0–113.0 million] people have been infected with the HIV virus and about 40.1 million [33.6–48.6 million] people have died of HIV. Globally, 38.4 million [33.9–43.8 million] people were living with HIV at the end of 2021. An estimated 0.7 percent  [0.6-0.8 percent ] of adults aged 15–49 years worldwide are living with HIV, although the burden of the epidemic continues to vary considerably between countries and regions.

Additionally, the WHO African Region remains most severely affected, with nearly 1 in every 25 adults (3.4 percent ) living with HIV and accounting for more than two-thirds of the people living with HIV worldwide.

Staff Writer

#UnitedKingdom, June 12, 2023 – The United Kingdom has recorded two cases of avian influenza or ‘bird flu’ in humans but the public is being assured that the risk of spread is extremely low.  The World Health Organization (WHO) shared the news in a May 30th bulletin.  According to the WHO, the UK found a single poultry worker who tested positive for the infection in mid-May.  The birds on the corresponding farm were reportedly already ill.

In the midst of culling the birds to prevent further spread, another worker was infected. The two workers had no symptoms and were only detected because of an increased surveillance study.

The US Centres for Disease Control says “Human infections with bird flu viruses can happen when the virus gets into a person’s eyes, nose or mouth, or is inhaled. This can happen when the virus is in the air (in droplets or possibly dust) and a person breathes it in, or possibly when a person touches something that has virus on it and then touches their mouth, eyes or nose.”

The UK says all the workers at the infected farm and their contacts have been identified and so far, no other influenza cases have been identified. It is not being declared an outbreak yet and the WHO says there is no evidence of person-to-person transmission, making the likelihood of international disease spread through humans low.

Staff Writer

June 12, 2023 – Based on increasing outbreaks and low vaccine availability, the global risk of a Cholera outbreak is very high according to the World Health Organization, WHO.

In a disease update bulletin issued on June 1st, the WHO said 24 countries were still dealing with outbreaks, the same amount as in April. Cases inside those areas however are growing.

The WHO said response to the outbreak is strained at best because of: a global lack of resources; shortages of the oral cholera vaccine; and overstretched public health and medical personnel, who are dealing with multiple disease outbreaks and other health emergencies at the same time.

Cases are also expected to increase.

“With reference to historical transmission patterns and seasonality, it is important to note that large parts of the world are currently in low or interepidemic transmission periods, therefore this number could increase in the months to come,” the report said.

Cases globally are already trending higher than they have been in a decade.

At the time of the report, Haiti and the Dominican Republic were the only countries with recorded cases in the Caribbean. Haiti had recorded 45,000 with 686 deaths and The Dominican Republic 99 with no deaths.

The Turks and Caicos becomes third country in the region, recording its first case of Cholera on June 4th 2023.

Staff Writer

#Argentina, June 12, 2023 –  The morning after pill will be more accessible in Argentina as it will no longer be required to bring a prescription to get the emergency contraception.  The Government says this will remove an important barrier for women seeking termination.

As expressed by the health ministry, the new rule will aid in preventing unwanted pregnancies by overcoming the difficulties of access to health service and contraception supplies and education.

Additionally, feminist groups expressed content with the decision highlighting it as a progressive move in Argentina, a mostly Catholic Country.

Vanessa Gagliardi, leader of the feminist group Juntas y a la Izquierda, maintained that the move would help “de-stigmatise” the morning-after pill, further informing that the unwanted pregnancy rate is Argentina is high, that is seven out of 10 adolescents with unwanted pregnancies, according official data.

However, despite the praise given to the new implementation by the Government and feminist groups, critics had the opposite to say.

Argentine pro-life group DerguiXlaVida  is of the opinion that the rule is worrying, expressing that the Government is supporting abortive measures.

Additionally, DerguiXlaVida said it is indicative of the “failure of pregnancy prevention [and] sex education”.

The freeing up of the rule under contraception access follows the legalization of abortion up to 14 weeks which was implemented in 2020 and was opposed by the church, who requested that senators reject the bill.

Terminations previously, were only  allowed in cases of rape or when the mother’s health was at risk.

Despite the common views of critics, according to WHO, emergency contraception, in this case the pill, can prevent up to 95 percent of pregnancies when taken within five days of intercourse.

Staff Writer

June 5, 2023 – Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO) approved the WHO Programme budget 2024-2025, which includes a 20% increase in assessed contributions.  This now takes WHO’s global budget to $6,834.2 million of which the Americas will receive  $313.7 million, a 1.2 percent  increase from 2022-2023.

This will better facilitate the equal distribution of funds for the Americas as expressed by Dr. Jarbas Barbosa Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director.

“The Americas remains the most unequal region of the world, yet WHO covers a relatively small portion of PAHO’s operational costs,” he said.

He further added that ensuring equitable distribution of WHO funds is pivotal in meeting  the urgent health needs of Latin America and the Caribbean.

The decision was made on Monday May 22, 2023, at the World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, lasting from May 21st to 30th, and came as PAHO Member States highlighted that the Americas needs increased financing and since less than three quarters of the approved budget for the Americas has been funded historically.

Barbosa continued to emphasize that “Sufficient and sustainable financing for the Region is key to addressing the health inequities that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, pointed out that this marks to first time in the organization’s 75 year history, that a significant increase in assessed contributions has been made, and he expressed gratitude to the Member States for having confidence and trust in WHO, maintaining that the increase is symbolic of and reiterates his commitment to enhancing transparency, accountability and efficiency.

Additionally, the budgetary increase for the financial period will also aid WHO in supporting countries of the Americas in reaching the Sustainable Development Goals and the Organization’s Thirteenth General Programme of Work (GPW13) “triple billion” targets:

• One billion more people benefiting from universal health coverage,
• One billion more people better protected from health emergencies,
• One billion more people enjoying better health and well-being.

Staff Writer 

May 15, 2023 – Mothers and newborns are dying at unacceptably high rates according to the World Health Organization because basic care is unavailable to them, but a new invention might help turn the tide.

“Global progress in reducing deaths of pregnant women, mothers and babies has flat-lined for eight years due to decreasing investments in maternal and newborn health, according to a new report from the United Nations (UN). The report shows that over 4.5 million women and babies die every year during pregnancy, childbirth, or the first weeks after birth – equivalent to 1 death happening every 7 seconds – mostly from preventable or treatable causes if proper care was available,” a report released on May 9th said.

Progress on decreasing maternal deaths halted in 2015, with around 290,000 maternal deaths each year, 1.9 million stillbirths and 2.3 million newborn deaths.  COVID-19 only exacerbated that issue.

Along with the report the WHO revealed that a new solution, called E-MOTIVE, could provide a major breakthrough in reducing risk of the leading cause of death in new mothers: childbirth-related bleeding.

It affects an estimated 14 million women each year but despite being treatable, it results in around 70,000 deaths – mostly in low and middle-income countries, the WHO says.

E-MOTIVE is a trial process that measures blood loss using a simple, low-cost collection device called a ‘drape’ and when cause for concern arises, bundles together recommended treatments instead of offering them one by one.

The WHO and UN say to increase survival rates, women and babies must have quality, affordable healthcare before, during, and after childbirth.  E-MOTIVE seems to fit the bill with bullseye precision, removing the element of guesswork involved in using visual markers for blood and instead, collecting the blood as it drips then immediately beginning treatment including uterine massage, medicines to contract the womb, and stop the bleeding, intravenous fluid administration, an examination, and when needed, escalation to advanced care.

It is also not a specialty service and midwives everywhere can be taught to perform it.  The study was performed across Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Tanzania.  Two hundred thousand women participated, and the use of E-MOTIVE resulted in dramatic improvements where severe bleeding (when a woman loses more than a litre of blood after birth) was reduced by 60 percent.