The strategies that we need to win race against Covid-19

THE world is facing the second wave of Covid-19, and public health services in several countries are stretched to the maximum. Some countries have managed to flatten the curve; others are entangled in the second wave with high casualties.

The reason for the second wave is a miserable combination of three important factors (according to the Nature journal April 21). First, the emergence of particularly infectious variants, double and triple mutants; second, non-compliance with standard operating procedures (SOP), such as masking, social distancing, social gathering and hand sanitiser use and, most dangerously, due to mixing, moving and travelling; and third, due to low vaccine coverage.

There is a race between the speed of vaccination on one side and the rate of mutations of the virus on the other. Essentially, we have to act faster than the spread of the virus and tighten the SOP and secure our borders.

Many strategies are required to win this race against Covid-19. Several efficient efforts are in place. Others that may be done include the following:

FIRST, vaccine coverage should go beyond the targeted 80 per cent to entrench herd immunity. Sadly, only around four per cent or 1.3 million have received either the first or second dose of vaccine. To establish herd immunity, the government has accelerated its efforts. The bottom line is that if the rate of vaccination exceeds the rate of infection, it will give the virus less of a chance to mutate.

SECOND, research bodies should accelerate research on vaccine and therapeutics, including genomic surveillance of virus at all entry and vantage points and seroepidemiological studies. This will help the government know the immunological protection status of the population.

Research on personal protective equipment, diagnostics, other even minor factors, such as the role of vitamin D in reducing the mortality rate due to Covid19 can be studied, as observed in countries like Finland. Malaysia has sufficient experts in this field. Every stone must be turned over to stem the tide of this pandemic.

THIRD, both government and public should play an essential role in stopping the “infodemic”. According to the World Health Organisation, an infodemic refers to information overload. It includes fake information, especially in the digital media, during a disease outbreak. It causes confusion and risk-taking behaviours that can be injurious to one’s health. It also leads to mistrust of health authorities and undermines the public health response.

FOURTH, the press has a role to report positive findings in headlines. For example, single, double and triple mutants happen among other viruses, including polio, hepatitis, measles, mumps and rubella. They are normal evolutionary happenings in every organism, including us.

Due to the mutations, the degree of infection and spread of the virus vary. Fortunately, some mutations do reduce virus infectivity. Research suggests that in SarsCoV-2, mutations in RBD (N331Q and N343Q) have resulted in significantly reduced infectivity.

FIFTH, we should not worry about these mutations. Rather, we should trust more in our immunity. The bottom line is that the vaccine does offer protection. However, there has been “breakthrough infection”, which the United States Centres for Disease Control (CDC) classifies as getting Covid-19 after being fully vaccinated.

Fortunately, in the US, up to April 20, only around 7,157 breakthrough-infection cases were reported among more than 87 million Covid-19 vaccinees. The risk is only 0.008 per cent, and it is infrequent. The CDC clearly reported that vaccination will likely make breakthrough infections less severe.

SIXTH, the public should be assured that the risk of blood clots from vaccination is lower than the normal incidence of blood clots in a population. For example, over 20 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine have been given in the United Kingdom.

The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency estimates that the risk of blood clots from receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine is about four in one million. For the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, it is around one in six million.

The benefits, compared with the risks, favour vaccination. Let’s promote and encourage others to have the vaccine so that we can partner with the government to achieve the 80 per cent immunity herd target and beyond.

Can we act faster than the virus and conquer the world’s second wave of Covid-19? Yes we can, if all of us put our hearts and minds to it.

Let’s promote and encourage others to have the vaccine so that we can partner with the government to achieve the 80 per cent immunity herd target and beyond.