by Keith Ventour
Grenada’s health system is now in a very precarious position. The events of recent weeks have indisputably changed the Covid-19 landscape in this country.
What has brought us to this sad place of brinkmanship? Who is to be blamed, right or wrong? What were/are the mitigating factors, and what must be done to preserve, protect and ensure the life and livelihood of Grenadians?
To begin with, I must say it was not a well thought out decision by the powers that be to allow “carnival-like activities” to take place in the 2020 carnival season and to initially give the impression that such activities would be allowed at village level in 2021. Having witnessed what happened last year, all should have been aware of the psyche and mood of Grenadians. The perceived consensus was that some persons felt disenfranchised, as some would have been able to “eat ah food” while others could not. It would seem that in making their decisions, the powers that be did not take seriously the political and social overtones spiraling throughout the country. Additionally, there was an underestimation of the level of opposition to Covid-19 vaccination.
What resulted was a reminder of the 1970s when Gairy said ‘NO JAB JAB’ and Grenadians played Jab like never before. This time around, we saw again a show of rebellion and protest towards the government and the so-called “time to free up, time to play we mas, time to have some fun,’ in the name of culture. However, 2021 is not 1974! The fatal consequences in the current environment are obvious. Covid-19 has been wreaking havoc throughout the world.
This protest was spurred on by some selfish pseudo-intellectual individuals, who galvanised carnival revelers into deadly super spreader events over the carnival weekend.
In setting forth my analysis, I will like to make it unequivocally clear that I do endorse and have given the government and public health authority my full support in ensuring that the state of Grenada was, for the most part, kept Covid-19 free. Our measures were second to none, as we were able to effectively control and manage the virus up until the first 2 weeks of August.
In the same breath however, I hasten to say our administration may have dropped the ball and maybe continue to do so by (1) the 48-hours quarantine time for vaccinated persons entering the country, which may turn out to be insufficient, and (2) the congestion in the arrival area at Maurice Bishop International Airport (MBIA) especially when there is more than one international flight. I have been reliably informed by someone who entered the country on 7 August, that passengers were in each other faces, and the faces of the Covid staff. The inference here is that this area could be a centre for transmission. It is well known that airports without the required public health safeguards can be vehicles for Covid transmissions.
There is the theory that the virus was already on-island at the beginning of August. This theory should not be dismissed. This would have meant that most of the carnival-like activities, parties and other social events which took place in the first 2 weeks of August, could have been super spreader events. I strongly believe that the powers that be, were aware that community spread had begun in the country and were struggling to make 2 critical decisions. The first of these had to do with the possible extension of the 48-hour quarantine period to 5 or 7 days and the second, whether or not to begin a lockdown of the country.
I remind readers of the press briefing of Dr Shawn Charles, Acting Chief Medical Officer on 4 August, when he informed the nation of case 170, a female, who entered the country on 27 July with a negative PCR test, and on preparing to leave the country, her test revealed a positive result on 3 August.
Another official press release put out by the Government Information Service (GIS) on 15 August, stated that Grenada had recorded 2 more Covid cases confirmed on 14 August. Again, they were returning nationals who came in with a negative PCR test and on preparing to leave tested positive.
The health minister’s controversial but correct pronouncement that “Grenadians will die”, in addition to the 2 press releases, are reasons for my above conclusion. I contend, that if the decision-makers had the political will and fortitude and took into consideration the bigger picture, in securing life and livelihood of Grenadians, the country should have been shut down almost immediately. We most probably will not have been in this Covid pandemonium we are presently experiencing. In my opinion, we are 4 weeks late with our new curfew hours and weekend lockdowns.
Once community spread had begun, our transport bus system must have been compromised and became a critical medium for Covid transmission. High priority is needed to be given to this sector as we analyse and navigate the way forward. Testing of bus operators and conductors will become necessary. The National Bus Association recently took the decision to suspend operations effective Wednesday, 7 September and continuing until Wednesday, 15 September in the first instance. We have also heard of the death of 2 bus operators while many more operators and conductors have been infected. The reason for the action taken by the association was the protection of life and livelihood.
What took place then is now history and it is now left for the selfish, blinded, misguided and unreasonable promoters to bask in their guilt for putting the country in this our most endangered period ever. Many of us may be saying now, ‘if, if, if I had listened. If I was not so selfish. If I was not so unreasonable and if I did not display so much political ineptitude, we might have been in a better place.’
What are the implications? We see rising active cases of Covid transmissions, hospitalisations and deaths. We have moved from zero active local cases on 7 August to 1,955 cases by 12 September; from one death to 27 and with the number of persons currently in hospital moving from zero to 51 in the same period. This has put immense strain on our already fragile physical and human medical resources. Already elective procedures have been cancelled, denying patients their long-awaited medical treatment. Thursday, 9 September was an extremely dark and painful day for Grenada as we recorded our youngest Covid death yet, number 15. The brilliant, talented, hilarious 18-year-old Reanna Bruno, second-year TAMCC student, succumbed to the deadly coronavirus.
As we speak, our accident and emergency department is seeing a constant increase in Covid patients. More beds are currently being reset to accommodate the exponential growth in hospitalisation.
New stiffer measures are to be implemented to stem the spread of this deadly virus.
The question is what can we do to arrest this compelling situation? Vaccination is the main asset in defeating Covid-19. This must be ardently articulated. I submit, our Prime Minister missed the perfect opportunity in his last national address to send his strongest message yet, that vaccination is the proven scientific method in curbing this coronavirus. The government must continue to lead in ensuring compliance with the protocols they have unveiled.
HOWEVER, THE GOVERNMENT ALONE CANNOT DO IT.
It is now left up to each one of us Grenadians to personally take responsibility, recognise where we are and do what is right by ultimately protecting ourselves and our families. Wearing of masks is a critical mitigating tool in protecting ourselves. In doing so, we must promote health awareness, the boosting of our immune system, more regular exercise, pay more attention to our mental health and most importantly become vaccinated. To enhance the above, we must rigorously follow the designated protocols.
Many a time the message is not sufficiently filtered through to the public because what I may refer to as ‘face’ fatigue of the messenger. We may need new faces, persons from the NGOs, trade union movement, religious denominations, senior nurses and public health personnel who may be able to better convey information more effectively to the general public, or at least catch the attention of their respective constituencies.
We must also continue to educate ourselves on the science, on how the Covid-19 reality is constantly changing and what adjustments we have to make in order to sustain life and the fulfillment of the master’s plan.
We must also continue to call out the detractors and anti-vaxxers, whose unfortunate work has undoubtedly contributed to the colossal mess the world is in today.
Finally, live and let live. Let us always seek the Lord’s guidance through this period and continue to enjoy life within the new parameters of this pandemic.
Let us stay universally safe.
A very good article by Mr.Ventour. However, I would challenge the assumption of superspreader events that “tag” the Carnival groups as the main culprits. Where is the factual evidence to support this assumption? Where are the numbers? Given the very loose border protocols at the airport, the virus could have spread anywhere – in unmasked buses, on the beach, in supermarkets, in the market at the Stadium, in small shops. In fact, anywhere. Therefore, unless Government can produce quantitative numbers on how the virus spread, we should be a bit more cautious about pointing fingers at Carnival people – although it is quite possible that they contributed to it because of the loose policies of allowing ANY carnival event to take place in Grenada in August.
Good Thinking Keith. Maybe you should be part of the educating process
Do you want a country where personal responsibility is expected, or one with a dictatorship. Your choice Grenada.
Where’s Kesri?
He legged it when it was obvious he was going to be proved full of crap.
lol, probably in the covid ward by now, demanding they inject her with bush tea
A Vaccine Metaphor:
There are two roads from La Sagesse into St. Georges. If you take the Top Road you are 5 times more likely to get into an accident, 10 times more likely to end up in the hospital and 11 times more likely to die from your injuries than if you take the Low Road. Which road are you going to take?
A lot of hesitation about vaccines comes from not knowing much about them and how they work. Perhaps more resources dedicated toward educating the public about the different vaccines, how they work, and the risks (compared to covid risks) will help. I agree that it will be more effective if the educating is done by influential and/or respected people in the community, or trusted friends/family members. Apart from that, it seems that only self-serving incentives will convince unvaccinated hold outs, like restrictions for the unvaccinated until they get the jab (unless they can show legitimate health reasons for remaining so – certified by a practicing medical doctor). And yes – anti-vax misinformation, be it due to ignorance or done on purpose, is a real danger.
It is well over a years worth of in depth studying of papers relating to vaccination, combined with data, and listening to people who are not on Pharmas payroll, like the inventor of the mRNA vaccine who do not support the vaccine in the midst of a pandemic that would cause me to take multiple prophylaxis which have likewise been shown in trials to be effective.
Vaccination in Israel is the prototype for what is happening around the world. They do not count people who have been double jabbed as being vaccinated under their green pass system that allows people into large venues and even supermarkets. You have to be triple jabbed. This is because immunity is reducing rapidly. Yes the latest triple jabbed people are having a greatly reduced infection and death rate. But for how long?
It is a historic fact, you DO NOT vaccinate in the middle of a pandemic, which is exactly what they did with the trials in South Africa, Brazil, America, and Britain. So people became infected mid course of treatment allowing the virus to learn how to survive and get round the vaccine. Ergo the trials HELPED the virus to mutate. Or maybe you didn’t notice these are the places the first variants came from?
Now we are running around like headless chickens in Grenada we are doing exactly the same thing with the latest variant.
Lets stop kidding ourselves, we have a large amount of obese and morbidly obese people here, we have a goodly number of kidney patients, and a hell of a lot of diabetics. All Co-Morbidity markers for death with Covid.
Before this is over it is almost certain we shall have 5-10,000 deaths. Anything less will be a miracle.
Check your facts because you are full of crap. Did you actually take a look at history? Or are you just making things up in your head, or repeating misinformation you heard somewhere? Vaccine trial locations are chosen specifically because of population and high community spread in order for the trials to be useful. The four designated variants of concern:
1) UK variant (alpha) – Remember when the UK started off with herd immunity through natural infection as a strategy? Then later reversed course when they realized that was dumb? This variant emerged in the UK in Sept 2020, while there was high natural community spread, before mass vaccinations started in Dec 2020.
2) South African variant (beta) – first detected in Sept 2020. From virus sequencing, scientists know it likely mutated and emerged from highly populated Nelson Mandela Bay. Trials were happening in Johannesburg, 11 hours away by car. If it was primarily vaccines that helped this variant mutate, why didn’t the the mutation happen in Johannesburg, the center of vaccine trials?
3) Brazil variant (gamma) – emerged in Manaus, Brazil. The main sites for vaccine trials were in Rio, 58 hours away and Salvador, 66 hours away. There were no vaccine trials happening in Manaus. Manaus had – pay attention – high natural community spread. As an aside, a high number of people in Manaus had “natural immunity,” but this variant mutated there and broke through natural immunity, infecting people twice.
4) India variant (delta) – emerged in Dec 2020. When less than 1% of their population were partially vaccinated, and even less than that was fully vaccinated.
You claim people got infected mid-treatment during trials. Says who, you? It’s challenging for scientists whose entire careers are spent studying viruses to pinpoint exactly when and in whom the virus mutated, and viruses may have mutated several times before taking on the final physiology of a variant of concern. Using gene sequencing, they identify a particular area of variant mutation origin based on where it started circulating first. But YOU can pinpoint the exact timing and in whom the virus mutated? Wow, better go tell the world and apply for the Nobel Prize.
If vaccines are what mainly spur variants, where is the explosion of worse variants after the mass vaccination roll outs? The mRNA vaccines weren’t widely distributed to the public in the US until late Dec 2020/Jan 2021. Same in Israel. Where are the variants of concern from these places? And other places in the world that held vaccine trials like Canada, Russia, China, Australia, Spain, Germany, etc? The 4 variants on concern mutated in 2020 – BEFORE vaccines were widely used by the general public, in places with high community spread (not high vaccination). Viruses replicate in the body, and with replication comes mutation. The more chances and time a virus has to replicate – like within a population that doesn’t have vaccines to help cut short the amount of time the virus survives in the body – the more chances there are for mutation. Stop pretending your made up stories are facts.
The self proclaimed “inventor” of the mRNA vaccine you are blabbing about sounds like a bitter man who is upset that other scientists are also recognized and have contributed to mRNA research in the many years since he says he “invented” it in 1989. Go read the recent peer-reviewed study as to why Israel, who leads the world in reliable Pfizer research, is recommending a booster for Pfizer. Think of the flu shot – it’s taken yearly, after protection from the last shot has worn off. Billions of doses are distributed worldwide so people can avoid serious illness and guess what – this benefits humanity.
You point out that many Grenadians will die. With these vaccination figures, you are correct. You point out that many Grenadians are vulnerable to serious illness/death from covid due to comorbidities. You proud of yourself for making that statement? You think Grenadians should just sit back, accept that and let it happen? That’s what your smug idiotic tone makes it sound like. You claim to take “multiple prophylaxis” shown in experimental “trials” to be “effective.” Even though only small and limited studies exist for those and as of yet there are no LARGE-SCALE, placebo controlled, randomized, peer-reviewed trials that exist for combinations of drugs/vitamins testing for safety and efficacy as a covid prophylactic. The vaccines available now – free for Grenadians – went through all of that. You want to protect yourself only by continuously taking experimental combinations of vitamins/drugs that might include drugs meant for pets, farm animals, meant to treat roundworm, lice and rosacea? Go ahead, hope that works for you. Really. But don’t be part of the problem this country is now facing by discouraging Grenadians from vaccines – the most widely studied and tested prophylactic there is for covid, meant for humans and shown worldwide to be currently the safest, most effective and easiest way to fight serious illness from covid, stay out of the hospital and stay alive. Discouraging Grenadians from vaccines can potentially cost vulnerable people who listen to you their health or their lives. You proud of that?
finally some well thought out words
I concur with most of the sentiments expressed by Brother (Comrade) Ventour in this article. However, given the ability of viruses to mutate, I could hardly help subscribing to the view that hand sanitizing, social distancing, and wearing of masks should be encouraged just as much as, or even more than getting vaccinated. As of July 2021, the world has experienced the Alpha Variant, the Beta Variant, the Gamma Variant and, most recently, the Delta variant. As scientists have observed, the SARS-CoV-2 virus or Covid-19 is mutating relatively slowly compared to the rates of other viruses; which seems to suggest that the virus has the ability to proofread the newly made RNA copies, and so, eventually outsmart the attempts by humans at getting the upper hand. Now if this is , in fact , the case, then one could only foresee a situation in which everyone who has taken a first Covid shot will have to take that second shot, then a third and fourth booster, ad infinitum; as is currently the case with the yearly flu shots. Obviously, there is no easy answer to ending this pandemic. But the rush to putting all our eggs in the basket of mandatory mass vaccination (no pun intended) might not be the kind of elixir that it is purported to be. Ans so, while getting vaccinated might, indeed, be one of the most expedient approach in dealing with the pandemic, the overbearing focus on mandatory vaccination might, in fact, turn out to be a classic case of mistaking the forest for the trees.
Excellent points Keith. As I said before” Where is the Grenada Medical association”?? They should be the face of this urgency to get people vaccinated. Otherwise some people are looking at this as “Government’s ” message. The virus doesn’t care who you are…..I see it everyday…
I just came home from shopping in Real Value. I thought peoples attitude towards mask wearing and distancing had changed a little after our free fall from few to many Covid cases. But sadly not so. The masks are more around people neck than nose and distancing does not take place at all. People lining up shoulder on shoulder for doughnuts with no one there to guide them. If we don’t start to take Covid more serious and start to make use of the vaccine, we don’t have to be surprised when things are getting much worse.
Perhaps the vaccine could be placed in doughnuts… they seems to be in higher demand than the vaccine for some reason. I can see it now, big sign reads: “Free Doughnuts” the line of people would stretch for miles.
Since we so good at spreading the virus, maybe we need a contagious vaccine. The vaccine would contain a live virus that can spread from the vaccinated to the unvaccinated. This virus would be a weak/harmless virus like the common cold, but with one key modification: It would contain the snippet of genetic code for producing the coronavirus spike protein.
So you only need to vaccinate a few people throughout the island who have lots of public interaction and these people would then spread the vaccination virus to everyone. This is the best way to do mass vaccination.
This is where PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY comes into play, YOU keep your distance, and advise transgressors to stay far.
Sad but true. I too was in RealValue a day ago and had to tell a fellow customer that he was to close. He responded by saying that “I am a whole cart distance away”, as he continued a very loud conversation with his female companion. The cashier seemed helpless to enforce the 6 feet rule. I was already checked out so I told him to stay “safe”.