Vaccines alone will not help curb COVID-19 spread

Dear Editor,

Stephanie Isaacs wrote a letter in Stabroek News (January 24, 2021), `Guyanese need to protect themselves in view of govt’s Covid-19 lethargy.’ I endorse the concerns of the writer who details various strategies to be taken and observed. Previously, I wrote a few pieces on the Covid-19 pandemic, offering some cautionary advice and admonition. Sadly, there have been cases of the leadership’s lack of attention – presidential and public figures – failures, not unlike those of the previous Trump administration where there were denials, anti-maskers, lies, etc., which resulted in exponential infection, spread, and unnecessary death of hundreds of thousands – 25,724,960 cases and 429,647 deaths in the U.S. to date, and rising. The modus operandi and behaviour of the leadership boggles the mind; it made no sense! Such misinformation seeps down to the population.

President Ali, personnel of the government, and others flagrantly disobey basic rules of the pandemic health conduct. Unforgiveable, I say. To be fair, most public appearances of government officials abide with proper masking, not with adequate distancing! In the meantime in Guyana, the press reports many cases of Covid-19 daily. In the U.S. President Biden appears to be fast tracking vaccination, and at the same time he urges safety measures. Safety lifestyles – masking/face covering, distancing and washing of hands – must be made mandatory for ALL because vaccines alone will not end the Covid pandemic.

I join Ms. Isaacs’ appeal for “Government and public entities to wake up from their slumber in this regard and work assiduously to put measures in place to curb the spread of this virus before it is too late for many.”

Sincerely, Gary Girdhari