National Epidemiologist, Dr. Shalauddin Ahmed, informed the Dominican public that as of October 7th 2021, the total number of new cases in Dominica is fifty-one (51). Of this total, forty-four (44) cases are antigen positive while seven (7) cases are PCR positive. Moreover, the total number of active cases in Dominica is 468 of which 75% are unvaccinated.
Quite alarming is the number of Covid-associated deaths. The death toll has increased to twenty-six (26), which include 13 females and 13 males. According to Dr. Ahmed, the age range of the Covid-related deaths is 40 to 95 years of age, with a median age of 81. Furthermore, most of the persons who succumbed to the Covid-19 virus had underlying medical conditions. More importantly, 92% of these persons were unvaccinated, which again shows a close correlation between deaths and the vaccination status of a person.
With respect to the daily trend, Dr. Ahmed stated, “There is some sign of hope as of this week. The number of cases per day went down from fifty-five (55) cases to fifty (50) cases.” He explained that 79% of the active cases are mild to asymptomatic, 13% are moderate and 7% are severe and are being nursed at the St. James facility in Portsmouth.
In addition, Dr. Ahmed notes that their current target population with respect to vaccinations is 53,281 persons, which is 76% of the total population. He further contends that 49.6% of the target population have taken at least one dose of the vaccine. Furthermore, 41% of the target population are now fully vaccinated. Notably, in order to achieve herd immunity in Dominica, 23% or 11, 592 more persons would have to be vaccinated.
Significantly, Dr. Ahmed answered the very important question of whether a person may be re-infected with the Covid-19 virus. He expressed, “According to a Yale University professor, re-infection in unvaccinated people is possible within 3 months.” He notes that there has been reinfection in Dominica with persons testing positive in both August and September. Accordingly, Dr. Ahmed stresses the need to get vaccinated and urges persons to stay safe as this dreadful pandemic continues.
