THE Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. on Monday, Jan. 3, reported the islands’ 18th Covid-19-related death since March 28, 2020.
CHCC Chief Executive Officer Esther L. Muna was joined by Dr. Ali Khan, a World Health Organization medical epidemiologist, in a media conference when the announcement was made.
“[T]his past weekend, we reported five deaths. We are very saddened to hear [of] the deaths, especially right during the holidays. Our hearts go out to the families of all those who lost their lives due to Covid-19 or any other health conditions actually,” said Muna.
“This is a grim reminder that we still need to protect ourselves and our community from Covid-19, in cooperation with the great efforts by the public health and medical teams…. I just want to remind everyone that the statistics are individuals, they are loved ones and we need to be respectful of that.”
Muna added, “Our message today, like any other day, is focused on prevention of hospitalization and severe illnesses. This is a new year. Let’s try to make it good for all of us. We are reminding everyone that the pandemic is not over. Please get vaccinated…. If you are vaccinated, get your booster shot, especially if you are over 60 years of age or have cardiac conditions.”
Dr. Khan, for his part, said, “Since the beginning of the pandemic, there have been 18 deaths in the CNMI. Now, this is tragic, but fortunately, this represents about one-half of 1% of all the cases, so the clinical efforts have been quite excellent.”
To put these numbers in context, the WHO medical epidemiologist noted national statistics: the U.S. has reported 824,190 deaths — 1.5% of all reported cases or three times higher than what is seen in the CNMI.
The U.S. mortality rate is 250 deaths per 100,000 people, about eight times higher than the CNMI’s.
“I believe that this is a reflection of the excellent public health and healthcare efforts underway here in the [CNMI] community. The vaccination rate, for example, is quite excellent and focused on public health,” Dr. Khan said.
As of Monday afternoon, 95.2% of the eligible CNMI population 5 years and older, or 41,028 individuals, had been fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
Dr. Khan said of the 15 deaths reported during the surge that started on Oct. 28, 2021, nine were unvaccinated, one received a single dose, five were fully vaccinated, and none had received a booster dose.
“These nine people who had never been vaccinated is tragic and unfortunate, but it’s a reminder that in a community that’s highly vaccinated, this disease is very, very deadly for the unvaccinated,” he said.
Among those who died were persons around their mid-60s, much higher than the average age of community infections of 30 to 39 years of age.
The ages of the fatalities range from 43 to 95 years old.
“Get yourselves vaccinated if you haven’t,” Muna reiterated. “Get the booster shot if you are due. Get tested so that you can add a layer of extra prevention of spreading to your family and friends that are most vulnerable. We ask everyone’s assistance in sharing the right information about the efficacy and safety of these vaccines.”
She added, “We’re also asking anybody with questions about the vaccines to direct their questions to vaccinatecnmi.com. Again, it takes time for your body to build protection after any vaccination. People are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after their second shot of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, or two weeks after the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine… We know that the vaccine efficacy wanes over time. This is true with any other vaccine.”
To register for Covid-19 vaccines, visit www.vaccinatecnmi.com
As for those who want to be tested, Muna said: “Come early…. If you are infected we can treat you with the many new therapeutics, the many new drugs that we have available. Come early to get tested if you think you are infected so that we can treat you. That’s the message that we’re reminding everyone.”
During the holidays, there was a dip in Covid-19 testing, she said.
But “our testing has not stopped and will continue as long as we have to. We are urging, again, those who want to be tested to please sign up. The fire stations [in Susupe, Garapan and Kagman] are also conducting testing,” she added.
To register for community-based testing, visit https://covidtesting.chcc.health
No code is required to register. If there are no dates showing, it means all spots have been filled. More dates will be announced.
