Lifesaving jab

Vaccines are safe and save lives, a senior public health official said Monday, as he sought to assure Barbadians on the safety of inoculation.

Dr Omar Edwards, Medical Officer of Health from the Sir Winston Scott Polyclinic, told a COVID-19 press briefing that not only are vaccines proven safe by rigorous medical trials before widespread use, but they are also an important pillar in the area of maintaining high levels of health in the general public.

He told journalists: “Vaccines are safe [and] they have been created to prevent infectious diseases. Next to clean water and sanitation, vaccines are among one of the foremost public health measures that save lives. At the end of the day, we are looking at a lifesaving intervention here, with the deployment of the COVID-19 vaccine in Barbados.”

Training for public health officials has already begun in anticipation of the upcoming rollout of the Oxford AstraZeneca here, said the health official. The jab is estimated to begin arriving later this week.

Dr Edwards said: “Training has begun for medical practitioners, for nursing practitioners, for other members of the teams that will be involved in the vaccination campaign. This is not a public sector only approach, this will include the private sector [and] this will include volunteer groups. So the training that we have devised, will give you a background on the disease COVID-19, a background on the particular variants of concern globally and here in Barbados, a background on the vaccines available [and] specifics on the vaccine we are looking to introduce here.

“We are also very cautious, and the training will include the medical management of the entire process. So this is going to be a thorough training – we are going to cover the vaccine, we are going to cover the adverse effects that may happen, we are going to cover the observation period post-vaccination, we are going to look at the public health situation, we are going to look at the aspects of the logistics, and every step of the process will be covered in the training.”

Amid social media chatter with some expressing their hesitation in taking the vaccine because of fear of an adverse reaction, Dr Edwards said that the efficacy of all the main vaccines currently in use globally is all high, with the Oxford AstraZeneca, in particular, having a considerable low rate of severe allergic reactions.

Dr Edwards said: “All of these vaccines are relatively safe – in particular with the AstraZeneca, there has been a low incidence reported of severe allergic reactions, so that is a good thing. The effectiveness or the efficacy of the vaccines will vary, but all of these vaccines produce an efficacy above 60 per cent. So what that translates to – persons receiving the complete course of vaccination will be offered a level of protection against severe disease should they contract COVID, and the subsequent complications of that.

“[With] an effective vaccine, you have decreased symptoms, you have decreased medical [complications], and the patient is more likely to survive. So this is what we want at the end of the day, for the vaccine to save lives.”

Those who take the first dose of the vaccine are protected within three weeks of taking the jab. But the strongest chance of reducing the symptoms of the virus will come after the second dose is administered, the health expert said. (SB)