Manama: Mahmood Rafique, Editor: In the wake of rapid spread of the mutated variant of the COVID-19 virus, the safety and efficacy of vaccines has become more relevant as 99.2 per cent of new cases reported in Bahrain were among those who were not vaccinated. The statistics show that those who have had taken vaccine were only 0.8 per cent among the newly reported cases, an expert reveals on Sunday.
Lt. Col. Dr. Manaf Al Qahtani-Member of the National Taskforce for Combating Coronavirus (COVID-19) told virtual Press Conference that vaccine and the public co-operation would serve as a key to control the spread of infections.
“Today we are talking with you a day after the highest daily rate was recorded in the number of existing cases since the first existing case of Corona virus appeared in the Kingdom.”
Bahrain’s top infectious diseases expert while underlining the importance of public cooperation to bend the curve of COVID-19 cases which had recorded the highest ever a single day figure of 1316 on Saturday. “It is the responsibility of the each individual to make a right choice by getting vaccine at the earliest and comply with the safety and health guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health,” he said.
“We hope that the increase that we witnessed will be the last increase in the curve of existing cases, and we hope that we witness the holy month of Ramadan and we may see a decrease in the numbers and percentages through your commitment to divergence and demand for vaccination,” Dr. Al-Qahtani, said.
“In order to shift from the stage of social distancing to rapprochement, we must continue to follow all precautionary measures, demand vaccination and stop gatherings at houses and dwellings, and adherence to measures reduces prevalence rates,” he said.
“We reiterate the warning against laxity with precautionary measures after taking the first dose of vaccination or even after completing the two doses, and it must be continued cautiously with full adherence to all announced precautionary measures of wearing masks and adhering to social distancing standards and washing hands constantly,” he told the Press conference.
“The Kingdom of Bahrain is one of the world’s leading countries in terms of population vaccination rates as part of its efforts to address the pandemic, and we hope that these rates will increase until the necessary community immunity is reached to limit the spread of the virus,” he said.
“We note that the national vaccination campaign is continuing, and its goal is to reach a high percentage by the end of April in the number of citizens and residents who are eligible for vaccination, bringing us closer to the goal of reaching community immunity,” he added.
