2 fully-vaccinated persons with severe comorbidities die from COVID-19

Of the 624 persons who have to date died from the novel coronavirus in Guyana, only two of them had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. However, according to Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony, they were suffering from severe comorbidities, which led to their deaths.

He made this revelation during a press conference on Wednesday morning to mark one year since the operationalisation of the Infectious Disease Hospital, known as the Ocean View facility, which is currently being used solely to treat infected patients and houses the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
In response to a question from Guyana Times, the Health Minister noted that with the exception of two patients, none of the other persons who have died from COVID-19 were fully vaccinated.
“We have had two cases where persons passed away [and] they’ve had both doses [of COVID-19 vaccine], but they’ve had severe comorbidities. In both cases, they’ve had more than one illness… So outside of the vaccination, the prognosis would have been bad to begin with… the persons were extremely sick…but generally, as we know, the vaccines produce antibodies and they help to defend [our bodies], and that’s why we’re not seeing many persons coming into the hospital who have been vaccinated,” he explained.
Anthony also disclosed that there were some patients with only one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine who died as well, but they, too, had severe comorbidities such as cardiac problems, diabetes, hypertension and so on.
Currently, 98 per cent of the 84 patients at the Ocean View Hospital at Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown are unvaccinated, with only one person being fully vaccinated. Of the 84 patients hospitalised, 34 are in the COVID-19 ICU.

Treatment
According to Dr Tracy Bovell, the doctor in charge at the Ocean View facility, they continue to treat COVID-infected patients with international practices, but based on individual health conditions.

“We are using remdesivir; we are using things like dexamethasone, we are using anti-biotics when necessary. The thing about COVID-19 is that it does not come with COVID-19 alone. Most of the time… they have patients with comorbidities, so you’re treating the person according to how they present. So, some patients can come with an uncontrollable diabetes. So you have that coupled with COVID-19, so their treatment will vary from a person who maybe is a hypertensive with a heart attack. But the general treatment guidelines are the same ones they’re using internationally,” she explained.
Moreover, Dr Bovell noted that the staff of the hospital have and will continue to “give everything and more” to ensure that patients receive the best possible care. She explained that since no visitors are allowed, the staff would step in and tend to patients’ needs outside of medical requirements.
In addition, the staff at the facility facilitates video calls between patients and their family members, not just in Guyana, but in other countries as well.
Moreover, Dr Bovell noted that patients’ mental health is also being catered for, with regular visits by psychiatrists and evaluations being done to determine whether permanent consultations are needed during hospitalisations and after discharge.

Capacity
The Ocean View hospital currently has the capacity to accommodate 204 patients, with 40 ICU beds.
Dr Anthony said plans are afoot to expand the facility to house an additional 50 beds. Additionally, the Minister noted that capacity would be further boosted with the establishment of a portable field hospital which was donated by Qatar earlier this year, if the need arises.
Nevertheless, he recalled the state of the Ocean View hospital when the PPP/C Government took office in August 2020. It was without electricity, water, pumping, proper ventilation, and it was not equipped.
“It was a lot of work to be done…This place was literally a shell, nothing else – no equipment, no beds, no ventilators, no ICU… and that’s really what we inherited… There were contractors who were on the site, who were paid – overpaid in many instances – but they didn’t complete their work. So, we had to make sure that these things were done, and it really took an effort,” the Minister posited.

According to Dr Anthony, the fact that they were able to have the facility ready for its first patient in approximately one month speaks volumes of the tirelessly work of the GPHC staff and management.
The hospital started with just seven ventilators and now has 47, and an additional 14 ventilators are expected soon.
Also reflecting on the past year of the Ocean View Hospital, Dr Fawcett Jeffery, Director of Medical and Professional Services at the GPHC, recalled preparing for COVID-19 before the virus spread to Guyana by creating and isolating spaces at the city hospital. He noted that with the spike in cases after the outbreak here, the need for much larger space was recognized, hence the Ocean View facility was identified.
He lamented the difficulties to procure equipment, since with the global pandemic, there is competition to get equipment and medical supplies, including PPEs.
“We are a developing country, and we have to take what the developed countries left over,” he noted.
To date, some 2,336 patients have been admitted to the Ocean View facility, of which 2,001 of them have recovered. The hospital also recorded 335 deaths, of which 281 were ICU patients – 55.4 per cent of overall ICU patients at the facility. Total deaths at the Ocean View hospital is approximately 14 per cent of all the patients who were admitted there over the past year.
Meanwhile, there are presently 114 persons hospitalised with COVID-19 across Guyana. (G8)