Delta variant posing threat

PAPUA New Guinea needs at least 70 per cent vaccination coverage to protect us the citizens against the deadly Delta variant virus that is rapidly sweeping across countries in the world.
This will then enable PNG to slow the pandemic, save and protect lives and drive economic recovery.
It has been a struggle to convince and prevent further spreading of the dangerous variant.
That target, however, is far from reality with only over 54,932 people around the country vaccinated of which 7,604 are health workers, 41,477 are essential workers and 5,851 are others, including those with people to get vaccinated as pointed by the National Pandemic Response deputy controller Dr Daoni Esorom.
The amount of false information (disinformation) currently being circulated on social media platforms is preventing people from getting the vaccine.
The volume of false information against the Covid-19 virus and vaccine is being spread like wildfire with no control and with no attempt at verifying the source is shared at the press of a button.
While it is voluntary to take the vaccine, the information that our general population need to access is to know more about the Covid-19 vaccination.
Vaccines help protect us all, they keep us well and if we are well, our families and community stay well.
Word out from the Health Department is that the Covid-19 vaccination reduces the chance of someone suffering from Covid-19 disease.
Just as all medicines, no vaccine is completely effective and it takes a few weeks for your body to build up protection from the vaccine. Dr Esorom earlier this
week  was reported saying unvaccinated people were a risk to themselves and a risk to the others as well if they become infected with Covid-19 and more so   with the Delta variant.
“Infected people become the only source of new Covid-19 variants because they will harbour the virus and spread them among the population,” he said.
“Unvaccinated people have the potential to spread the Delta variant if they become infected and become variant factories in the country.
Unvaccinated people present greater opportunities for the virus to multiply and spread among the population.”
We support him to say people have not been compliant to the Niupla Pasin strategies and measures put in place since the beginning of the outbreak and if the Delta variant enters PNG, it will mutate and it could throw off a variant mutation that maybe more serious in future.
The Delta variant is 50 to 70 per cent more transmittable than the Alpha variant and is the fastest and the fittest variant that posed a threat to PNG as this particular variant is already present in neighbouring countries.
To prevent PNG from the Delta variant, certain steps were being taken that include complying with the amended measures put out by the National Pandemic Response Controller David Manning, increase Covid-19 vaccination as PNG has a low vaccination rate then the targeted projections and inform people of the benefits of vaccinations and address misinformation.
Let us be pro-active then to be re-active as the variants are even closer to us detected in neighbouring countries.
Covid-19 respects no one, knows no boundary and does not discriminate.