Staff Writer

#BArbados, July 27, 2023 – COVID-19 continues to move through the Caribbean infecting and claiming lives as Barbados recorded eight deaths between July 8 and July 21, 2023.

Eight hundred and twenty-one tests were conducted and from that 227 cases were found, giving a positivity rate of 27.65.

Now, the death toll for the country in relation to the virus is at 620.

This comes just a month after an outbreak on ward at Geriatric Hospital on the outskirts of the capital.

The Pan American Organization continues to inform countries on the importance of continuing public awareness on hand hygiene, cough and sneeze etiquette, and the importance of social distancing, despite the fact that we have nearly, if not entirely gone back to living life as it was before covid.

COVID-19 is still at large and so we must continue to be vigilant.

Staff Writer

#USA, March 15, 2023 – The US Congress has unanimously decided to declassify all COVID-19 data the country has regarding potential links between the deadly disease and China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology. 

This decision would likely lead to the publication of the information which prompted that bold declaration, several weeks ago, by the FBI and Department of Energy on the suspected origin of the virus as a lab leak. 

It means the Director of National Intelligence, who oversees the National Intelligence Council  which spearheaded an investigation into the origins of COVID with at least seven other government agencies, would have to submit a report on those findings. 

The report would reportedly have the barest redactions permitting the public unfettered access to nearly all of the findings of US government agencies. 

The information contained in the investigations may not be as airtight as Congress is expecting. In a preliminary report seen by Magnetic Media, not only do the agencies contradict each other in their assessment  they emphasize that none of them are highly confident in the conclusions they have drawn regarding the origins. 

In fact four separate agencies had articulated that the virus was caused by natural exposure to an animal; three weren’t sure and another said it was definitely a lab leak. 

The President still has to sign the Bill for it to come into effect. If Joe Biden doesn’t sign, it will be his first veto. 

The objectives of the training workshop were to:

1. Build Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) capacity within the TCI by conducting a training programme for Infection Preventionist and Occupational Health staff in line with international safety standards.
2. Train health care and other front line workers to be able to undertake fit testing of respirator masks and to be confident to cascade training to other staff members where needed.
3. Increase knowledge and training capacity around respiratory hazard identification, the controls that can be implemented and the safe use of personal respiratory equipment including donning and doffing (putting on and taking off), alternative respirators, maintenance and decontamination.
4. Introduce the Respiratory Protection Programme Manual for use in healthcare settings.
5. Provide the tools and knowledge to develop and implement a local Respiratory Protection Programme.

The COVID-19 pandemic has played a major role in heightening our awareness of the risk of respiratory diseases and the effects of these diseases on our health, economy and society. It has provided the opportunity for the health care sector to strengthen their Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Programmes in order to avert or control the introduction of other infectious diseases which can become a public health emergency. As a country, our health work force is small, it is therefore of paramount importance that we employ all means necessary to ensure the safety of our health professionals and population at large. It is against this background that the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in collaboration with UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) are supporting the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) to strengthen the implementation of its IPC program.

PAHO in their concept note stated that “In order to effectively prevent disease transmission via the airborne and droplet route of spread, healthcare facilities require the capacity to understand and implement the key elements of a respiratory protection program, including the necessary infrastructure, human and material resources that support the program, along with the appropriate guidance on how best to implement the program successfully.”

In order to build an effective and sustainable respiratory protection program, it is critical that the proper respiratory protection equipment is selected in the right quantities and proper guidance on technical standards is developed and adhered to. Fit testing procedures and protocols for training healthcare workers in their use, how to introduce them into health facilities and finally, how to monitor their implementation and use should be developed and implemented within all health care facilities.

The Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) is the first English speaking Caribbean country to be trained under this initiative and also to benefit from face-to-face training.

Mrs. Jackurlyn Sutton, Chief Nursing Officer, Ministry of Health and Human Services and the National IPC Focal Point stated that “this training of trainers workshop is one of many initiatives supported by PAHO. The participants are now equipped with the requisite knowledge and skills to build capacity by training other colleagues in the healthcare system. Previously in 2021, PAHO assisted the TCI by conducting assessments on five (5) of our healthcare facilities in relation to IPC. We had been anticipating this training in mask fit- testing to take place in 2022, however, due to the high demand for fit-testing kits, we had to delay this until this year. We are also grateful to UK Health Agency for supplying the TCI with the kits in order to make this training workshop a reality”.

Our future plans for IPC in the TCI is to plan for and implement the recommendations made during the health facilities assessment; such as the development, sensitization and implementation of our national IPC Policy and conducting of ongoing IPC training and refreshers for health and other front line staff in proper hand washing procedures and “donning and doffing” of personal protective equipment (PPE). This is to ensure that health care and other frontline personnel, follow the correct procedures when putting on and taking off these PPE’s, a very essential technique to ensure that they are properly protected from the COVID-19 virus and other emerging and re-emerging respiratory infections.

The Ministry of Health and Human Services extends sincere thanks to PAHO Consultants, Mr. Jose Espino, Mrs. Kathryn Johnston, Ms. and to Mrs. Janice Toplass, UK Overseas Territories Programme Global Operations, UKHSA for their commitment to the successful completion of this training initiative.

Photos of Facilitators and Participants engaged in Mask Fit-Test Training

Staff Writer 

February 6, 2023 – COVID-19 is still a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) but that may change in the near future according to the World Health Organization (WHO) which met on Friday to discuss the listing.  A PHEIC is the highest listing given to outbreaks of disease by the International body.  The decision was adopted at the most recent International Health Regulations Emergency Committee.

Director General Dr. Tedros GHEBREYESUS said he agreed with the committee’s assessment that the COVID-19 pandemic is probably at a transition point during a post-meeting briefing.

There were several concerns by the emergency committee which prompted them to keep the emergency listing including:

• Insufficient vaccine uptake in low- and middle-income countries;
• The uncertainty associated with emerging variants;
• Pandemic fatigue and reduced public perception of risk led to drastically reduced use of public health and social measures.

The post-COVID effects on the body as well as the condition and the high risk of heart disease post-infection are also major concerns that the WHO says will likely have a serious negative ongoing impact.

The WHO is warning countries that they have to continue to take temporary measures to maintain COVID safety even as the disease becomes prevalent. Those measures include incorporating COVID-19 vaccines into regular primary care regimens; increasing uptake and ensuring long-term availability of medical countermeasures, as well as maintaining strong national response capacity and preparing for future events to avoid the occurrence of a panic-neglect cycle among other steps.

Staff Writer

#USA, February 2, 2023 – In a nine-hour meeting on Thursday, an external advisory panel of experts brought in by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) voted to simplify and regularize vaccine composition so that all COVID shots are similar and focus on targeting the same variants.

Three years into the fight against COVID-19, this will very likely mean the permanent end of the original monovalent shots rolled out to fight the disease in late 2020; in the US at least.

With the advent of Omicron and all the vaccine elusive sub-variants it spawned, the efficacy of those original vaccines plummeted.  Bivalent vaccines were quickly developed and with them the FDA and US Centres for Disease Control (CDC) rescind the emergency use and authorization use of the original monovalent as booster shots; effectively barring them from being administered as anything but primary doses for the unvaccinated.

If the FDA accepts this vote it would mean unvaccinated US residents would now be given bivalent primary doses from the get-go.  For the North American country which still has a vaccine mandate in place for visitors, it could also prompt tweaking of the definition of fully vaccinated which currently means having a primary series of the monovalent shot.

The decision to simplify the vaccines would pare down the number of vials and measuring healthcare workers have to contend with; a move the FDA is hoping will lead to fewer vaccine administering mistakes as well.

The FDA has not yet made a decision on the once-yearly COVID shot proposal which was also on the table.  The attendees cited new concerns brought up in the meeting including the variation of protection needed between healthy people and those with comorbidities and more.

Staff Writer

#USA, January 25, 2023 – In a matter of days, the United States is going to make a decision on whether or not they will make Covid-19 vaccinations an annual recommendation.

In an effort to reduce vaccine mistakes and increase compliance from the public the best way to administer COVID shots going forward is via a single vaccine shot for primary and booster doses according to a proposal from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The FDA said despite the fact that the fact that bivalent vaccines were proven to work, getting shots into arms was proving difficult with the agency citing “implementation complexities”.

In addition healthcare workers have made mistakes administering the vaccine owing to the number of different vial presentations and booster uptake is low all these issues are expected to be fixed or improved with the simplification of the vaccine composition.

The vaccine will have to be periodically updated to handle new variants but if the FDA gets its way gone will be the era of multiple boosters. In fact the COVID shot will be more like the flu shot in how it is administered. Regulators will also vote on whether all shots should target the same variants. Of this is approved regulators would decide the most concerning variant in summer giving vaccine makers a chance to change the formulation in time for winter.

“Review of the totality of the available evidence on prior exposure to and vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 suggests that, moving forward, most individuals may only need to receive one dose of an approved or authorized COVID-19 vaccine to restore protective immunity for a period of time. Two doses of an approved or authorized COVID-19 vaccine may be needed to induce the expected protective immunity”

The Agency explained that though it was not completely the same the data observed in long term effectiveness of COVID shots was similar to that observed with annual influenza vaccination cementing their proposal.

The proposal will be considered this Thursday at the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee.

Even as yearly shots are considered, the US is holding fast to its vaccine mandate for entry.

This is despite most other countries relaxing the rules months prior. The vax rule came into effect during the initial onset of Omicron in November 2021. Prior to that only a negative test was needed. The measure was set to expire on January 9th but was quickly extended to April 10 this year.

The WHO has advised that travel bans and restrictions “do not provide added value and continue to contribute to the economic and social stress and safety measures such as masking, testing, isolation/quarantine, and vaccination should be based on risk assessments.

The country lengthened their vax mandate and activated more stringent entry measures, particularly for travellers from the China region, as new and elusive COVID sub-variants are emerging and infection rates are increasing.

Staff Writer 

#USA, January 23, 2023 – The resurgence of COVID-19 cases in the United States is so concerning to the Government that they are now asking the courts to overturn a ruling that allows passengers on Federal transport to go mask-less.

The US Centers for Disease Control instituted an order mandating mask wearing on public transport in January 2021. That order was struck down by a federal judge on April 18 last year against the CDCs wishes. The agency continued to recommend that masks be worn in these areas but is unable to enforce that rule.

On Tuesday the Justice Department appealed the ruling seeking to once again give the CDC the power to implement the nationwide control.

The mandate had stated that with an exception to school busses “All passengers on other public conveyances (e.g., airplanes, ships*, ferries, trains, subways, buses, taxis, ride-shares) traveling into, within, or out of the United States (including U.S. territories) as well as conveyance operators (e.g., crew, drivers, conductors, and other workers involved in the operation of conveyances), regardless of their vaccination status, are required to wear a mask over their nose and mouth.”

Currently there are no longer any states requiring people to wear masks in public places; arguments for the appeal have already been heard by a judge and the county is waiting for a decision. The United States has the highest recorded death toll from the respiratory disease globally despite its relatively small contribution to the global population.

If the ruling is overturned not only would it be a step backward from the personal responsibility rhetoric that the US has adopted so far, it will have effects for people traveling to the US as well; picking up a mandate that has been long abandoned legally by many countries but that is still medically advised by health authorities.

The Turks and Caicos recently extended its vaccine mandate for visitors; the travel entry requirement was due to expired on December 31, 2022 but is now extended to March 31, 2023.

Staff Writer 

January 23, 2023 – The highest level of COVID-19 immunity has been observed in individuals who have been both vaccinated and recovered from the disease. This is according to a report investigating COVID immunity after one year compiled by the World Health Organization and The Lancet and released on January 18th.

Data from 26 studies showed that this mix of natural and vaccine derived protection, known as ‘hybrid immunity’, remains high after an entire year combating both severe disease and hospitalisation when compared to unvaccinated and uninfected individuals.

WHO said “The analysis shows that hybrid immunity provides higher protection, demonstrating the advantages of vaccination even after people have had COVID-19.”

Despite the waning protection of both natural immunity and vaccination, the data said that one year after developing hybrid immunity, a person had at least a 95% lower chance of getting severe COVID-19 or needing hospitalisation, while those who were infected a year ago but not vaccinated had a 75 percent lower chance of the same.

While protection against reinfection was lower than that against severe disease, it was still substantial the WHO explained, “Those with hybrid immunity had a 42% lower chance of being reinfected one year later. Those who had been infected before, had a 25% lower chance of the same.”

The report said that those with hybrid immunity should still get boosters but could probably wait slightly longer than those without. This is of course not an endorsement to drop protocols or downplay the danger of COVID-19 infection which has already claimed more than 6 million lives.

Staff Writer

#StKittsandNevis, January 15, 2023 – Residents in St Kitts and Nevis are being urged to protect themselves amidst the recent spike in Influenza, Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) and Coronavirus (COVID-19) infections.

Influenza (flu) is an acute and contagious respiratory tract infection caused by influenza type A (H3N2) and type B viruses. RSV is another respiratory virus that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms. COVID-19 is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It is a family of viruses that can cause respiratory illness in humans.

In a statement, the Ministry of Health noted that the flu season is ongoing and will run through March.

“Persons are also encouraged to remain at home until fully recovered and to wear masks to prevent the transmission of the virus if contracted,” the statement said.

Staff Writer

#TurksandCaicos, December 23, 2022 – It had been 11 months since a new Covid-19 death occurred in the TCI, the last being reported by the Ministry of Health on February 4th.

That changed when the TCI Hospitals reported the country’s  37th COVID-19 related death on Thursday. They say the individual, described as middle-aged, passed away at the Cheshire Hall Medical Center’s Emergency department on Tuesday, December 20th 2022, after coming in and being declared critically ill.

According to the press release the patient was unvaccinated with chronic medical conditions.

In the release which came on December 22nd on the heels of the announcement of an extension of the visitor Covid-19 mandate The Turks and Caicos Islands Hospital and the Ministry of Health and Human Services reminded the public to practice the relevant public health measures to suppress the spread of COVID-19.

Magnetic Media expresses our sincere condolences to the family and friends who are grieving at this time.