Covid-19 Guns Are Barking - Time To Fight Back

Covid-19 Cases Continue To Increase!

The number of Covid-19 cases in the world continue to rise, and yet many Jamaicans are not taking the threat of this virus to their lives, seriously. Many employees are not wearing their masks at their offices and the management of these offices don't really seem to care.

The Prime Minister and his party are reluctant to make vaccination mandatory because this could have a negative political impact. Sometimes I wonder if the anti-vaxers want us to all lose our lives. I recalled that the cry once was, 'We do not have any vaccine' and now the cry is, 'We have vaccine and enough  persons are not taking up the offer'. We are a dichotomous nation. One side pulling north and the side other pulling south and then we wonder why we are not progressing.

How Many Understand The Covid-19 Terms?

I believe that one of the challenges that we have is that persons do not understand why government has implemented certain measures. People still ask, "Why do we have these nightly curfews, Covid-19 only walk a night like duppy, dem it no walk a day?" We cannot understand why the authorities limit the amount of persons who are allowed to attended a funeral for example.

Those who are versed in statistics are not educating us about this positivity rate. Why are we restricting the hours of human contact? I should point out that the job of getting accurate  information out to the public is not just the responsibility of the government but also the responsibility of doctors, scientists and other professionals.

The Probability Of Getting Covid-19

We need to understand why only a limited amount of persons are allowed to attend church services, funerals or even to come together. My understanding is that it is a matter of reducing the probability of getting the virus. While we cannot stop Covid-19 abruptly in its tracks, we can reduce the probability of its spread.

If we have one persons with Covid-19 for example, and that one person can spread it to at least one person each hour, then if we limit the interaction between that one persons and the public from 10 to 5 hours then we could reduce the spread of the virus by 50%, assuming all other things remain constant. If we ascertain that persons who attend funerals have a higher probability of getting the virus and if we increase the number of attendees then we increase the probability of persons getting the virus. If we increase the probability of getting the virus then the probability of our hospital becoming overwhelmed with Covid-19 patients, and for the country to reach a chronic stage with the virus would be extremely high.

We hear talk about this positivity rate and herd immunity and sometimes I am convinced that many of us do not comprehend these terms. If you use a word which persons do not understand, then what you say afterwards might not be understood also. My understanding of this positivity rate is it is the percentage of persons who test positive for Covid-19. A high positivity rate could mean that you have more persons capable of spreading the virus and it can also mean that enough tests are not being done.

The Propagandists

There are many propagandist out there stating that the vaccine has not been properly tested and that the vaccine does not protect you 100% from getting the virus. First, your seat belt for example does not give you 100% protection from being hurt in an accident, but the probability for serious injury and death is reduced by wearing a seat belt so we wear it.  The WHO (World Heath Organization) The CDC(Centre for Desease Contro) in the US would not endorse a drugs for human beings that have not been properly tested by very qualified scientists. We are willing to have a single doctor operate on us yet we cannot trust possible hundreds of scientists worldwide who have developed and tested a drug!

Recent Deaths

We must bear in mind that Covid-19 has caused over 4 million deaths worldwide so far. Here in Jamaica we have had over 1,285 related Covid-19 deaths. News just coming in is that the owner of the Versalles(I assume the name comes from the French word Versallies) Hotel in May Pen has died from Covid-19. His wife is now critically ill.

Jim Thomas

Versalles Hotel in May Pen

I have received information also that Blackie, the owner of Little Ochi has lost his wife and  the owner of Phils Hardware in Kingston is now very ill.

Covid-19 is not a duppy, it is real and it kills. Do the right thing. Please go and take your vaccination NOW and follow the protocols.

More Readings

• What is the Positivity Rate.
• Dr. Ramon Arscott - Jamaican Rhodes Scholar explains what is Covid-19.
• Vernon Derby talks with Dr. Ramon Arscott about Covid-19.
• Corona Virus and its history.
• Ministry of Health Management Clinical Summary - August 13, 2021.
• Corona Cases World Metre.

#Covid19 #Jamaica