Persons With NCDs More Likely To Be Severely Affected By COVID-19

Medical Officer of Health for Westmoreland, Dr. Marcia Graham, says persons of all ages with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are among those more likely to get a severe bout of COVID-19.

She was addressing the monthly meeting of the Westmoreland Municipal Corporation, in Savanna-la-Mar, recently.

“Remember, persons living with non-communicable diseases have a worse outcome with COVID-19 and feature very prominent among our deaths, regardless of age. So, some of the young persons who have died from COVID-19 also have non-communicable diseases,” she outlined.

“Let me state that obesity is a non-communicable disease, and we are seeing persons with just that disease alone being among those with higher death rates from COVID-19. So, control of a non-communicable disease is very important,” Dr. Graham underscored.

The Medical Officer is encouraging persons to follow the protocols and take “personal responsibility.”

“It is a lot of work for the medical team, and so we are pleading with everyone, do your part, so we do not prolong this third wave, we do not prolong our third surge of COVID-19 in the parish. COVID does not respect age, colour, creed or occupation; we all need to be careful,” she said.

Dr. Graham added that the Delta variant of the virus is present in the parish, and as such, extra precautions need to be taken by citizens to protect themselves.

“We need to treat everybody as if they have the Delta variant. Everyone you meet you need to take the necessary precautions, because you do not know if they are carrying the Delta variant and they are looking well, and you do not know. Do not let your guard down,” she urged.

“Cough etiquette, frequent handwashing and sanitising, wearing the mask correctly and consistently and physical distancing need to be the order of the day,”
she added.

Meanwhile, Dr. Graham assured that the COVID-19 vaccine is safe to be taken by lactating mothers.

“A common question I am asked is whether breastfeeding mothers can take the vaccine, and the answer is yes,” she emphasised.

As of October 5, there were six new cases of COVID-19 in Westmoreland, bringing the number of confirmed cases in the parish to 4,970.