Vaccines will boost immunity and reduce symptoms, but it may not guarantee protection against Covid-19, a top medic has warned.
National Taskforce for Combating Covid-19 monitoring committee head Lieutenant Colonel Dr Manaf Al Qahtani called on the public, especially those who have been inoculated, to strictly adhere to precautionary measures.
“We were able to purchase and administer vaccines even before the new Covid-19 variants came into Bahrain. However, the inoculation doesn’t mean that precautionary measures can be neglected, which is what we have unfortunately witnessed in the last period and it has led to an increase in active cases,” he said.
He made the remarks at a Press conference held yesterday at the Crown Prince Centre for Training and Medical Research at the BDF Hospital.
He said Covid-19 cases have been registered among individuals who had taken both doses of the vaccine, however they didn’t require intensive care and none of them died.
“Taking the vaccine doesn’t prevent an individual from getting infected, however, it boosts the body’s immunity in turn reducing symptoms.
”The kingdom has procured four vaccines – Sinopharm, Pfizer-BioNTech, Covishield-AstraZeneca and Sputnik – all of which have been proved safe and effective globally and approved by the National Health Regulatory Authority.
“The entire world is fighting a common enemy that has no geographical, racial or religious boundaries and with the increase in cases witnessed recently we urge people to register for the vaccine,” he said.
“The vaccine is the only solution to the war we have been facing for more than a year and we need more people to register to achieve herd immunity.”
He also highlighted that monitoring and follow-up have been continuous since last year which revealed that most new active cases during the last few weeks were caused by a Covid-19 variant detected in the UK that has now spread across the world.
“This variant has a much faster transmission rate which surpasses rates seen in the beginning of the pandemic.
“We have tracked more than 300,000 people through contact tracing. It has been found that recent active cases are due to gatherings and people ignoring precautionary measures.”
He also called on the public to reveal information about contacts of active cases to ensure the safety of the community.
“I want to send a message to every active case: Do not spread the disease to your families and the community. Contribute to combating the spread by truthfully revealing all necessary information.”
He also urged people who came in contact with active cases to strictly adhere to quarantine and isolation period protocols and conduct PCR test upon exit.
“Stay at home and step out only for necessities, while avoiding gatherings and events.
“Refrain from coming in contact with the elderly and those with compromised immunity and adhere to precautionary measures even at home because these categories are the most vulnerable.“This is the time for us to be more responsible. We need to unify our efforts and not fragment them as individuals in the community.”
reem@gdn.com.bh
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