Approval for home isolation may depend on vaccine status

As the country’s public health resources come under tremendous strain from unprecedented outbreaks of COVID-19, more details are emerging of the ambitious plan to house low-risk, infected people in their own homes.

Consultant Manager of Home Isolation, Dr Adanna Grandison revealed that patients’ vaccine status will weigh heavily on whether they are approved for home isolation when they are assessed at the Harrison Point facility.

She underscored the importance of allowing people to complete their isolation period within the comfort of their homes. However, numerous surveillance measures will be employed to prevent breaches of the system, ensuring the protection of the society at large.

Dr Grandison explained that once persons test positive, they will be transported to Harrison Point for assessment. There, persons are expected to disclose any symptoms they are experiencing and present relevant information about their health status including the existence of comorbidities like hypertension, diabetes or heart disease.

“We ask that you be very clear in terms of allowing the medical professionals to know exactly what comorbidities you have so that we know to check in a little bit more frequently. Once you have been assessed by Dr Corey Forde and his team, he will make a determination about your status in terms of symptomatology, comorbidity profile and vaccination status,” Dr Grandison revealed.

Approval for home quarantine will also depend on vaccination status.

“The vaccinated person essentially would have mounted an immune response that even if they got infected in the nose, it will not evolve into a very severe disease that would affect the lungs and the very organs that we need to help us breathe and help us get better. So when that occurs, we expect that that person who has been vaccinated would recuperate a lot faster. Therefore the risk for a vaccinated person is a lot lower,” explained Dr Grandison.

“Once that risk stratification has been done by Dr Corey Forde and his team, then you can, after a very short stay at an Isolation Facility, apply for home isolation.”

In an effort to constantly keep tabs on patients, the use of technological measures including GPS monitoring bracelets will be a condition of home isolation in addition to a consent form solidifying the terms and conditions of the arrangement.

“Yes, we expect that you will be honest and stay home, but we want to put that additional mechanism in place to ensure that persons stay at home and do what they are supposed to do,” Dr Grandison outlined.

“On top of that, there is another layer where we have random check-ins from healthcare professionals who may, for instance, ask you to present yourself to the door to ensure that you are there and what we are seeing is actually true. All of these things are mechanisms to ensure the safety and this is something that has been done in many international countries.”
(kareemsmith@barbadostoday.bb)