Booster shot gap cut to three months for all adults
(CNS): Everyone aged 18 years and older is now able to get a booster shot three months after a second dose of the COVID-19 vaccination as a precaution against the Omicron variant, the Public Health Department has said. The new strain has alread spread to more than 40 countries just over a week after it was first confirmed, though it has not yet been detected in the Cayman Islands.
Local officials said that while research is still being conducted on the new variant, preliminary findings suggest it is highly transmissible and has the potential to re-infect those who have previously recovered from COVID-19. Medical Officer of Health Dr Samuel Williams-Rodriguez said vaccines remain the best defence.
“The reduction in time between second and third doses is aligned with the UK Health Security Agency’s current guidance on COVID-19 management,” he said. “The people of the Cayman Islands are encouraged to get any vaccine dose that they are eligible for as a safety measure, especially as we enter the holiday season. In addition to seeking vaccination, we urge the public to remain vigilant by practicing hand hygiene, wearing masks while in enclosed spaces and making conscious decisions about social gathering.”
As of 8am on Friday 11,667 people (16% of the total population) had already had this third shot. Meanwhile, 82% of the population has had one shot while 79% has had a double dose against the virus.
The daily cases of COVID-19 detected Thursday fell under a hundred but the number of PCT tests done has also started to decline. There were just over 1,000 tests carried out during the day, with 85 positive cases all coming from the community. That is considerably less than the average 108 daily cases last week, according to Chief Nursing Officer Dr Hazel Brown, which was also a drop from the week before, when there was an average of 153 new cases every day.
There are still 14 COVID-19 patients in hospital. In the weekly trends report, Dr Brown said there 94 admissions and 79 patients discharged between 21 to 27 November. She said that 77% of these were admitted for COVID-19 and 23% were admitted for other causes but tested positive for COVID-19.
The age range for all 2021 admissions is nine months to 93 years, with an average age of 57 years. 66% of admissions were unvaccinated, 19% were fully vaccinated and 6% of had received one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, while 9% were unknown or unrecorded.
84% of admitted patients had one or more comorbidities: 32% were diabetic, 48% were hypertensive, 16% had chronic kidney disease, and 13% had chronic heart disease.
Dr Brown urged residents to continue with personal prevention measures, regardless of the apparent drop in case numbers “While the number of local cases appears to be falling, this is not the time to relax,” she said. “We must continue to practice all measures to reduce transmission and protect our families and community. Wear a mask, wash your hands, practice physical distancing, get vaccinated if you are eligible and isolate if you are experiencing any symptoms.”
There were 3,866 active cases of the virus in the latest report and CNS is currently seeking to confirm the number of people in isolation.
Meanwhile, with new travel requirements, the Health Services Authority’s COVID-19 testing clinic is increasing its hours of operations to expedite the processing of COVID-19 test results for international travellers. Starting Sunday, it will be open seven mornings per week.
See Dr Brown’s weekly trends report on CIGTV below:
CIG COVID-19 information and resources
Report positive lateral flow test results
See current vaccine and testing schedule
An Isolation Support Line is available to help by delivering groceries or other essential supplies for people required to isolate suddenly, and who do not have other resources and support.
For Isolation Support call 946-3530 or 1-800-534-3530 or email isolationsupport@gov.ky
Operational hours 9am-4pm, Monday to Friday, and 9am-1pm on Saturday.
For mental health support, the Mental Health Helpline can be reached on
1-800-534-6463(MIND) from Monday to Friday, 9am-5pmIf you have flu symptoms contact the 24-hour Flu Hotline at 1-800-534-8600 or 947-3077
or email flu@hsa.kyIf you are having difficulty breathing, call 911
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Category: Health, Medical Health
Just get on with life. No one is getting severely ill from Omicron. At last check nobody has died or been hospitalized due to Omicron. This mutation of the Covid virus is not a hair on fire, lock down everyone risk. Hopefully it is more infectious, then it will takeover from the more dangerous Delta, and push Delta to the history books. Get a grip.
“Nobody has died or been hospitalized due to Omicron” <– are you on the Space Station?
Accuracy matters.
This DoT funded website is relaying Cayman Bubble “Current COVID-19 Regulations” info from August 2020 as the current situation:
https://www.visitcaymanislands.com/en-us/global-citizen-concierge/frequently-asked-questions/current-covid-19-regulations
“As of August 2020, social distancing is no longer legally required in public spaces and masks can be worn at one’s discretion. https://www.exploregov.ky/coronavirus-curfew#Prevention”
This is dangerously outdated and in direct opposition to SL68 of 2021, liable on summary conviction to a fine of ten thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term of two years, or to both.
https://www.caymancompass.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/13108558.pdf
Can CNS please question the Tourism Minister on this?
I agree that questions should be asked but at this stage would anyone believe the Tourism Minister?
Natural immunity. Try to remember life before 2020, and believe in yourselves.
https://brownstone.org/articles/79-research-studies-affirm-naturally-acquired-immunity-to-covid-19-documented-linked-and-quoted/
CNS: Condemned by most public health experts as extremely dangerous ideas but popular among right wing politicians in the US – New Institute Has Ties to the Great Barrington Declaration
John Hopkins – COVID Natural Immunity: What You Need to Know
I don’t want to read every single study in the John Hopkins list, but this one does not state that vaccination is better than natural immunity.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/science/science-briefs/vaccine-induced-immunity.html#anchor_1635539757101
From the CDC study JH references.
“A systematic review and meta-analysis including data from three vaccine efficacy trials and four observational studies from the US, Israel, and the United Kingdom, found no significant difference in the overall level of protection provided by infection as compared with protection provided by vaccination;”
“In studies directly comparing risk of reinfection among previously infected individuals who were never vaccinated versus individuals who were vaccinated after infection, most, but not all, studies show a benefit of vaccination. One retrospective cohort study described risk of reinfection from December 2020–May 2021 among 2,579 US-based healthcare users previously infected with SARS-CoV-2, about 47% of whom were vaccinated over the course of the study. Investigators did not detect any cases of reinfection, regardless of vaccination status during 5 months of observation and so could not detect a benefit of vaccination”
“More recent observational cohort studies including over 700,000 health system users in Israel and over 11,000 healthcare workers in India reported that history of prior infection provided greater protection from subsequent infection than vaccination alone, but overall risk of infection was lowest among those that were vaccinated following infection”
CNS: This is an interesting topic and will continue to be studied, especially as new variants pop up. And full disclosure, I don’t have time to read this whole article right now. But note (in the executive summary): “There are insufficient data to extend the findings related to infection-induced immunity at this time to persons with very mild or asymptomatic infection or children.” This means that the study looked at people who had symptoms that were not “very mild”, i.e. you have to roll the dice and risk being severely ill and possibly dying or getting long covid to get that immunity. Most doctors strongly recommend that you don’t do that.
Also from the summary: “Substantial immunologic evidence and a growing body of epidemiologic evidence indicate that vaccination after infection significantly enhances protection and further reduces risk of reinfection, which lays the foundation for CDC recommendations.”
I sincerely hope that if it turns out Omicron is the dominant and mild variant that ends this pandemic permenantly that the mass formation crowd (30%) doesn’t take it too badly.
Yes, your old unfocused free floating anxieties will return and your newly acquired community bond to others in the 30% will be in disarray but you can refocus on something else. Maybe something constructive. There are also mental health professionals available to assist you in your recovery.
Covidenier chimes in. So many dunces here. When this is over, we will still want you to stay 6 ft away, believe it.
I guess you all missed the WHO saying the boosters do nothing for healthy people?
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/21/who-repeats-warning-against-covid-booster-shots-for-healthy-people-.html
CNS: Good grief! You really should read more than the headline, in fact, half the headline in this case. The article does not say that boosters do nothing for healthy people. In the article, WHO is bemoaning the fact that rich countries are giving out third shots while poor countries are struggling to get people basically vaccinated. However, the article is also two and half months old, so while the need to vaccinate people in poor countries remains just as critical, the need for booster shots is also more established.
Thank you CNS. It is hard to believe that such idiotic posts are coming from within Cayman. I suspect that many are coming from trolls and idiots elsewhere.
Folks,
Wear your masks! N95 or surgical masks. Wake UP!! If you are indoors, you ARE at risk. Really-really wash your hands (30 seconds and lots of soap- hot water preferred.)
Sadly, I do not see people practicing this- so THINK, put a string on your finger, snap a rubber band on your wrist, but try harder to keep others SAFE please.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00810-9
France is moving to control the spread by people who refuse to comply with public health rules in bars and clubs
“France orders nightclubs to close for four weeks over Covid surge: PM pic.twitter.com/pW51bco1Xc”
just give it up. Cayman is not France
Bars, clubs, pubs and nightclubs are the elephant in the room. There are standards for these places, but none are enforced. Zero. Every weekend, spreader events, where inebriated people bang shoulders and other parts together and generally don’t care about community risk.
Long Covid news
“Early findings from studies carried out in the UK suggest that one in eight people hospitalised with Covid may have suffered heart damage, according to a report in the Telegraph.
One study led by the University of Glasgow analysed a random sample of 161 recovering patients, 90% of whom had needed hospital treatment, scanning their hearts, lungs and kidneys a month or two after they had been discharged.
“About one patient in eight had evidence of heart inflammation,” Colin Berry, a professor of cardiology, told the Telegraph. “That is a high incidence.” Berry stressed that the research had not yet been peer reviewed.
A second study, at Oxford university, also found inflammation of organs in people who had needed hospital treatment for Covid. Dr Betty Raman, a British Heart Foundation clinical research fellow, used magnetic resonance imaging to study the brains, hearts, livers and kidneys of volunteers for post-hospitalisation studies.”
3 jabs in less then 12 months 🤔 and you can still catch and spread it 😂
How little you appreciate about the concept of vaccination against a novel virus infection..
In fairness, if we go back to late 2020, the whole miracle of getting EUA for mRNA vaccines was to radically shorten the development timeline for new vaccines to deal with mutating human and economic threats, more or less on the fly. The G7 have now bet so hard on messaging that the first vaccine from the Wuhan strain of two years ago will bring everyone over the finish line, that they are resistant to updating those doses to incorporate the pharmaceutical pipelines that targeted Beta, and Delta. These are the same people that can’t agree on climate change. The propaganda is to the point where pharmaceutical companies might not bother wasting their energy and capital on an Omicron-specific advantage. Meanwhile, round and round we go.
But if you do catch it, your chance of dying goes way down.
For goodness sake, chances of dying were always down. With a 99.7% survival rate that fact has been pretty clear from the beginning. Unless elderly, autoimmune compromised or having one or more co-morbidity and these groups have done what they need to do.
Idiot
Globally, of all cases, 98% is the recovery rate, 2% are dead, including some Olympians. For context, that’s 12 times the failure rate of parachute mains. Still not a flu.
Idiotic comment.
I suggest to every one whether you are travelling or not our Govt web site for steps for travellers to Cayman meaning returning residents.
So confusing. So many riders. Unvaccinated, verifiable vaccination,unverifiable vaccination,country with less than 60 percent first dose and so on.then lfts 2 5 7 etc. Quarantine 10 days and 14 days.
Why cant we do simlified procedure in usa or uk.
Confusion management.
In case anyone missed it NYC today announced a further step to limit Covid spread –
“Speaking on MSNBC, de Blasio announced that from 14 December, children between five and 11 will need to have had at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine to enter a range of public locations in the city.”
DeBlasio is a moron.
Good idea but not practical here until vaccination is permitted for 5 – 11 year olds. Safest thing for parents to do at the moment is just to keep them out of high risk situations.
Any study that says a booster is effective against Omicron.
Can it now be inferred that we should get boosted every 3 months?
It appears that we’re full blown winging it now.
Exactly. I got my booster off island in August. Does this mean I need another top-up in December? Until there is a vaccine specifically targeting the latest variant I’m convinced the current vaccine is past its effective date
Nobody is saying that we should get boosted every 3 months. The announcement was that people no longer need to wait 6 months from their 2nd dose to get the third. This change is based on science that shows that a time gap of at least 3 months gives the best protection. Similar measures are being implemented by other governments that also base decisions on science.
Lol, we’ll see how this ages. CDC already approved a 4th booster. We’re not quite 12 months in.
This is a good move. There is one other good move that we should copy:
“All private employers in New York City will have to mandate Covid-19 vaccinations for their workers, the city’s mayor, Bill de Blasio, has announced.”
I am in Dubai attending 2020 Word’s Expo (1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022). Little robots remind you about face-masks; some wear it some don’t. Lots of fun. Everyone is calm and enjoying nice weather and the exhibitions.
Forgot to add-25mil visitors expected.
everyone should get the booster asap…but uptake will be slower than original vaccine…lots of covid fatigue out there with no real end in sight.
why is this government letting the anit-vax crowd hold us back…bring vax-passport system immediately….to protect them and to protect our health service!
Does anyone actually read or listen to anything? How many times in the last week has it been said that the vaccine doesn’t seem to work against the new variant (Omicron)…but yet, the Medical Officer of Health is still trying to convince people to be human Guinea pigs. There has never been a successful RNA vaccine and there still isn’t. If works so well, why is there an estimated 1000 people dying in the US every day? Why, if this is a vaccine, is the virus still being caught and spread. I feel sorry for people who allow fear to control their lives.
Ummm – you seem to have missed the point that the vast majority of people dying from Covid are not vaccinated
that and you clearly have no understanding of how vaccines work.
Neither do you obviously !!
Well you know where the exclamation point is on your keyboard. That proves your point. LMAO
Excellent news Hopefully people will get the booster rather than Omicron-
“Prof Paul Hunter, from the school of medicine at the University of East Anglia, said there was concern that Omicron “is spreading rather more quickly than the Delta variant” and there were probably more than 1,000 cases in the UK at the moment. He said: “I think the early signs are that it will probably spread quite quickly and probably start outcompeting Delta and become the dominant variant probably within the next weeks or a month or so at least.”
Because the current vaccines work so well at stopping Omicron. NOT!
One Christmas party and over half of the all vaccinated people infected. So just as the vaccines prove less and less effective against newer variants they push harder and harder for vaccination with now clearly outdated vaccines. Brilliant. And we have no idea whether the vaccines reduce disease severity against Omicron either.
https://www.businessinsider.com/christmas-party-norway-turned-omicron-super-spreader-event-2021-12
Vaccines do not stop infection, they vastly decrease the chance of being seriously ill, die, or have long term illness.
its like complaining that your new contact lenses don’t stop you getting wet in the rain. Stupid contact lenses must be useless, but oddly come with the side-effect of making your vision clearer.
And Omicron, its almost like its a new variant and there hasn’t been enough time to fully study it yet.
Would you like them to use a crystal ball?
Are they already testing the next variant that doesn’t exist yet, to see if the vaccines work?
So why bother a vaccine, LOL.
The case with Omicron is complicated so blanked boosting recommendation with a vaccine that is not updated is gambling.
For example in the recent surge in South Africa the vaccinated account for over 30 percent of hospitalization (those are still modest but nonetheless), which is higher than the vaccine coverage so early reports would suggest the efficacy for reducing disease severity has also dropped dramatically. Even the Moderna CEO expressed his doubts about the efficacy of the existing vaccines against Omicron. What type of booster we use can make a pretty big difference going forward.
I am glad that they are offering boosters to more people particularly with a cruise ship coming in 3 weeks. Another infected ship docked in New Orleans today:
“A Norwegian Cruise Line ship with at least 10 passengers and crew members infected with Covid-19 docked on Sunday in New Orleans, where health officials said they were trying to disembark people without worsening the spread of the coronavirus illness, the Associated Press reports.”
Out of 3,200 fully vaxxed people.
According to CNN, those infected were also fully vaccinated. Point is, that once introduced to a cruise ship through whatever means, it is easily ‘incubated’ among the passengers.
The number this morning is 17 and going up. One of them has tested positive for Omicron.
everybody should get booster…but more importantly the non-vaxxed should be excluded from social settings to protect themselves and protect the health service.
its happening every where else in the world…why not here??
Flu season
How about talking about the thousands if not millions who have had covid and are completely fine so now have natural immunity which is better than the vaccine.
Better how? What data are you basing your conclusion on? Sounds like BS to me.
CDC says research shows vaccination provides a “higher, more robust, and more consistent level of immunity to protect people from COVID-19 than infection alone.”
We don’t know how long this immunity lasts!
And what about long covid? Not everybody is fine.
Great decision and in line with uk. Means we can all get booster before Christmas, and we know booster protects against omicron. Cayman doing great on Covid so far, no vaccinated deaths.
This makes absolutely no sense because scientists won’t know for at least another 2 weeks if the injection will even work against the Omicron variant. Already from what has been seen they’re not even too hopeful.
No. No you don’t know about vaccines and omicron. Please stop peddling mistruths and naive hopium.
While offering booster is good it is better for us to conduct serological study for antibodies for about 500 people who got vaccinated in the first month (after second dose) 500 6 months ago and 500 3 months ago who completed two doses. That will help to know how the protection is.
As we already have 10000 people with booster it is good to have a cohort of 500 and go on following antibody levels at 3 6 12 months etc.
Why are offices still operating as normal, with hundreds of people who could and should be working from home sitting together without masks all day, every day?
Don’t think they are? In my office you wear masks and social distance (although that is private sector and lots of expats … imagine public sector and caymanians is much worse and more non compliance)
Same for works xmas parties, no proper social distancing or masking. Standby for the second wave. I guess most people are confident the pfizer shot makes them invincible.
No point in not living life just to protect the stupid anti-vaxx idiots.
Because most of them won’t work if they are at home.
becaause our hospital rate is steady or declining….btw who said they are sitting without masks?….all offices i know are opreating strict mask protocols where required.
Why should they not live normal lives when there is no scientific facts yet available on this new variant to suggest it is any more dangerous than Covid 19
All we have is “ it has the potential to….”, “ it may lead to more ……..”
Fear mongering needs to STOP.
Two years later thai is really beginning to look like the Pandemic of Underlying Conditions and Fear.
Because despite being able to prove my productivity didn’t decline while working from home, my boss evidently takes issue with remotely working when I ask to, despite them buying laptops to facilitate it. The irony..
I guess they really missed the feeling of having in-person minions to boss around and micromanage.
Because humans are not meant to be hermits
Because real leaders won’t bow down to the demands of entitled millennials, looking for every excuse to do as little as possible.