CARISA LEE
Chief Medical Officer Dr Roshan Parasram believes it's only a matter of time before T&T gets its first case of the Delta Variant.
"It's a highly transmissible variant," Dr Parasram said.
He was, at the time, speaking at a media conference to give an update on the Public-Private Vaccination Partnership at the National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA), on Friday July 23rd.
The CMO said the variant is already in the Caribbean and the same way it entered those shores, it can and will some time or the other enter ours.
“But,” he said, “we have a secret weapon—the vaccine.”
Dr Parasram said both WHO-approved vaccines administered to citizens, namely Sinopharm and Astra Zeneca, have been shown to be effective against the Delta variant, and that is why it is important to get vaccinated.
It is a plea Minister of Health Terrence Deyalsingh endorses.
"We are preparing for Delta and our only way out of it is to get vaccinated as we much as we can," Minister Deyalsingh said.
The minister also assured the ministry are not waiting for the variant to reach here to have a response.
He said he chaired a meeting with PAHO, CARPHA and five RHAs yesterday, to plan for its arrival.
One of the first tasks on the agenda, according to the minister, is to vaccinate healthcare workers. This drive will take place next Friday.
The Minister said the country would be in trouble if the Delta variant spreads like the SARS-CoV-2 Gamma (P1) variant.
