…as Health Minister appeals to pregnant women to get vaccinated
Nine new COVID-19 deaths were announced by the Health Ministry on Wednesday.
According to the Ministry, among the nine deaths was a 73-year-old man from Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica), who was fully vaccinated; a 66-year-old and a 52-year-old were also both partially vaccinated.
Six other unvaccinated persons also died, the Health Ministry said. This has now taken Guyana’s death toll to 701.
Also, on Wednesday, the Ministry announced that 298 persons had tested positive for COVID-19 in a 24-hour period.
A breakdown of the new cases showed that three cases were recorded in Region One (Barima-Waini); seven in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam); 57 in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara); 203 in Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica); 12 in Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice); Six in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne); seven in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), three in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) and one in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice).
According to the Health Ministry, there are 31 persons in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), and 142 in institutional isolation.
Some 3,000 persons are in home isolation and 19 are in institutional quarantine.
Pregnant women
Meanwhile, during his daily update on Wednesday, Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony said the COVID-19 vaccine is safe to take during pregnancy, and has called on pregnant women to get inoculated and protect themselves and unborn babies against the virus.
“There are millions and millions of persons who would have received the vaccine during pregnancy, and it had no effect on the baby. So, among the obstetricians globally, the advice is that you should get your vaccines during pregnancy. The earlier you get it, you are going to be protected, because, during pregnancy, women can become more vulnerable to COVID, and therefore these vaccines can be very, very protective,” Anthony said.
He also addressed concerns of breastfeeding mothers who are vaccinated or contemplating vaccination. He said the vaccines can protect babies through breastfeeding.
“For those breastfeeding mothers too, there’s no contrary indications that during breastfeeding, if you get the vaccine, it would harm the child. On the contrary, if you get the vaccine, you can produce antibodies, some of which will pass through the breast milk and would help to protect the baby. So, it is better for you to get the vaccine if you’re breastfeeding,” he pointed out.
Data released by the United States’ Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that none of the COVID-19 vaccines contain the live virus which would make pregnant women or their babies sick.
CDC said, too, that women with COVID-19 are at an increased risk of pre-term birth or adverse pregnancy outcomes, with an increased risk of experiencing severe illness from the Coronavirus. This includes sickness that requires hospitalisation, intensive care, need for ventilators or breathing equipment, and even death.
