COVID-19 pandemic might fall down to endemic phase in 2022 in St Kitts & Nevis: Dr Laws

The Health authorities of St Kitts and Nevis have asserted that there is a ray of hope that the impact of the deadly viral infection caused by the SARS-CoV-2 will be declined later this year, and the country could move from a pandemic phase to an endemic.

While expressing the hope for the ending of the COVID-19, Dr Hazel Laws, Chief Medical Officer at the National Emergency Operations Centre COVID-19 briefing, cited that there is a hope that the country is at the end phase of the novel coronavirus and the emergency of the infection will end in the coming months.

"COVID-19 is still circulating in our environment, and it will not go away anytime soon, but we are hopeful that the emergency phase that has emerged due to the pandemic could come to an end in the upcoming months," noted Laws.

She further stressed that the pandemic of the COVID-19 would become a mere endemic disease and added," this could be only after the ramped up of the vaccination drive in the country as the high level of immunity only fights with the deadly infection". Laws explained that due to the increased knowledge about the virus, ways to t protect oneself from get infected from it, as well as various treatments against the novel coronavirus, have contributed the most to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and fall down on the endemic phase.

"However, this doesn't mean we can become the careless against the COVID-19 as the viral infection surged the death toll in St Kitts and Nevis over the past two weeks", Laws underlined.

She emphasised that the country is not out of the COVID-19 pandemic as it is threatening to the vulnerable people as the country has 11 adults recently.

While encouraging people, Dr Laws asserted," There is the light that we could end the pandemic, and there is hope that we will come back to our normal phase, but persons, especially who are between 12 and 17 years, were needed to get fully vaccinated against the COVID-19 pandemic".