LET THE EVIDENCE SPEAK
FIJI has followed patterns similar to most other countries in dealing with COVID-19. Right now we are in a period of escalating daily case numbers similar to what was seen in the EU last March and April. We have been fortunate and learned from many hard-earned lessons in other nations about how to contain and prevent infections. Unfortunately with COVID-19 the only measure that has caused a dramatic decrease in infections has been vaccination.
While this is a controversial issue for some, it is indisputable that when vaccines have reached 40-60 per cent of a population, the new case rate has fallen like a rock!
In the UK, they vaccinated like mad and went so far as to delay second doses so they could get as many people vaccinated with first doses quickly as possible. They were ahead of nearly everyone that way as the graph shows
Their big vaccine push was in the last months of 2020 and you can see how infections crashed following that. You can also see how early on there was a first and second wave and now two variants have caused some recent infections. I will also note that a strong anti-vax movement in the UK arose in the last couple of months. The UK’s death rate, not to be morbid, was even more dramatic in its decline.
You can see that even with a small number of infections still, the death rate has gone almost to nothing.
Israel, although a small country, has been an example of getting vaccines out quicker than any other country in the world as the graph shows
In all countries you can see the socalled second wave caused by variants, overly casual attitudes, and premature relaxation of social distancing. Again with Israel, the death rate was almost eliminated through vaccines:
The US had been the worst hit of all, but the same patterns prevailed. In all these countries, border controls, disinfecting, lockdowns, and social distancing only did so much. It was administering the vaccines that caused the height of the pandemic to quickly drop.
Brazil, is famous for resisting the vaccine movement and refusing to implement controls. The president posed with friends on a motorcycle during the worst outbreak and said several times that COVID-19 was not real. Now they have one of the highest death rates also and are taking the pandemic more seriously.
This is why I have advocated for us all to get vaccinated soon. Thank you to all who have done so. Even our neighbours who refuse to get the vaccine will benefit from our vaccines! Here is Fiji’s status now:
You can see we were spared the early wave of COVID-19, but it has hit now and is growing. How far will it go may depend on our actions, so I encourage all of us to help put this behind us. We only have seven tragic COVID-19 deaths up to now. I hope we can keep our numbers low.
I do not believe that will happen unless we reach 60-70 per cent vaccination, first and second jabs. We are on track to do that with first jabs in the next month or so if the system does not slow down.
Our ability to operate as we once did probably depends on getting over this pandemic as soon as possible. As you can see, in most countries the COVID-19 crisis lasted more than a year and still continues. We have a chance to stop it in the next month or two!
We need to respect sound information from valid sources and be wise about rumours and false reports. That is not easy, but it is part of being responsible, educated adults. Our reliable scientists and doctors are speaking out and I think we should listen! If we don’t, we should accept responsibility for the consequences.
I do not think all our doctors and scientists are in a conspiracy to ruin our lives. In my opinion, we will not get past COVID-19 without most people getting the jab. I hope we all continue to line up for that and that the supplies from abroad keep pace. Then we will be able to see our students and enjoy the successes we have been used to.