“WE need the fully vaccinated population to be higher than we’re at now,” Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. Chief Executive Officer Esther L. Muna said in a recent briefing.
She said there has been a dip in the number of individuals receiving their first dose since the conclusion of the “Road to 80” vaccination campaign.
“We are seeing low numbers,” she added. “We’re not seeing as high as a month ago when we were rolling out the ‘Road to 80’ campaign. Now, here we are rolling out the third shot and booster shot campaign. We want to put priority as well on the individuals who have not gotten their first shot.”
Together with the CNMI Covid-19 Task Force, CHCC is trying to identify individuals who may have the infection but may be unaware of it, Muna said.
“That’s what we’re seeing: people who didn’t even know that they had it. And yes, we are seeing breakthrough infections of those individuals who are fully vaccinated, but we are also seeing mild symptoms and we’re able to treat them,” she added.
The biggest worry, Muna said, is that there are still about 10,000 people in the CNMI who are not vaccinated and the island only has one hospital.
Should there be a surge, they will have to be addressed by the same healthcare personnel who are needed to perform regular duties at the hospital and are conducting tests at the CNMI’s borders and quarantine sites, Muna said.
“Prevention is key for the CNMI, for all our islands… We’re trying to increase the vaccination rate,” she added.
She reiterated that prevention will help ensure that the health system is not overwhelmed, especially during a disaster.
On Thursday, the CNMI reported its third Covid-19 death since March 28, 2020.
The latest fatality was a vaccinated male CNMI resident with underlying medical conditions. He tested positive for Covid-19 in August, was identified on arrival through travel screening, and quarantined.
He was admitted to the hospital while in quarantine, recovered, and was discharged in early September.
Shortly after, the patient was readmitted to the hospital due to complications related to Covid-19 pneumonia.
