St Kitts and Nevis records 3 additional COVID-19 deaths over the weekend

Medical Chief of Staff at the Joseph N. France General Hospital, Dr Cameron Wilkinson, said that St Kitts and Nevis recorded three additional coronavirus related deaths over the weekend.

In a Facebook post, he stated that the coronavirus vaccines have created a high immunity threshold in St Kitts and Nevis. He said with a wider population being vaccinated against COVID-19, it is highly unlikely that the hospitalizations and deaths would ever reach the levels seen in previous waves.

He said as the country goes into our 4th wave, recoveries now consistently outpace new infections. Dr Wilkinson said the health system in St Kitts and Nevis is currently not overwhelmed. However, he asked the public to be vigilant and follow protocols. "We remain cautiously optimistic as we approach the second-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic in March that we will finally all be relieved of the stranglehold that the virus has had on every aspect of our lives, as Omicron is fast becoming a game-changer," said Dr Wilkinson. Dr Cameron Wilkinson stated that two months after Omicron started to spread uninhibited across the globe to become the dominant strain, it is learnt that this variant is very highly transmissible while presenting less severe disease and a lower risk of death. He said the Omicron strain is associated with a 66-80 % reduction in the risk of hospitalization, especially in populations with a high vaccination threshold. "The level of concern we had had, compared to other variants, is lessened, but we must still remain vigilant because Omicron, with its high level of transmissibility, may eventually infect us all, knowingly or unknowingly, and the vulnerable can still suffer, with the unvaccinated still being at greater risk of severe disease, hospitalization and death," added Dr Wilkinson.

He said as governments worldwide retract in the imposition of COVID-19 protocols, curfews and lockdowns to control viral spread, the best way moving forward is to have the best protection through vaccination.