Officials switch to monthly reports for COVID-19 deaths
(CNS): Officials will no longer be reporting deaths in the Cayman Islands connected to COVID-19 in real time but on a monthly basis in the Public Health Spotlight. According to this month’s edition, released on Friday, there were no deaths related to the virus in January after two in December. Seventeen people admitted to the hospital in January tested positive for the virus, including those with morbidity relating to their SARS-CoV-2 infection and those screened on admission for other medical needs. Two COVID patients were admitted to critical care in January.
Genomic sequencing results from 83 positive samples from December showed that Omicron is the only variant currently circulating in the Cayman Islands. 86% of the identified sub-variants were BA.5 and its descendant lineages. The BQ.1 lineage attributed to 37% and BQ.1.1 attributed 20% of the sequenced
samples.
These trends align with the global picture, officials said, with BA.5 and its descendent lineages
reported as dominant globally by WHO. BQ.1 lineage is the predominant sub-lineage currently circulating in the UK. Just two cases of XBB and XBB.1 variants were identified in the samples from early December 2022, but these are not commonly detected sub-variants.
This month’s edition of Spotlight also focuses on rare diseases. HSA Genetics CoordinatorJoy Merren gave an overview of some of the conditions that have been identified here over the years, including the autosomal recessive disorders caused by what was once a very small gene pool, where parents were often first cousins.
The Cayman Islands is now a multinational, multicultural society with a much larger gene pool and the prevalence of these four main disorders of Cayman ataxia, Sanfilippo Syndrome Type A, Usher Syndrome, and Apolipoprotein CII deficiency have decreased as the gene pool has become more diversified.
Health Minister Sabrina Turner said her ministry has been working to determine the prevalence of Cayman’s most prolific non-communicable diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes, because of the impact they have on the population. “However, we cannot solve the issues of access to and equity in health care if we focus solely on the needs of the majority. After all, our remit is the health and wellness of the entire nation,” she said as she thanked Merren for her insight into the rare conditions that people in the community are coping with.
See the full edition of Public Health Spotlight below:
- Fascinated
- Happy
- Sad
- Angry
- Bored
- Afraid
Category: Health, Medical Health
said it before… no-one in cayman who is relatively healthy, under 70, who is vaxxed, will die from covid.
get vaxxed.
Covid denier back from the dead
This is the government’s way of having an excuse to increase the expat population by giving out more work permits. Diseases that barely anyone has when we should be delving into why so many people are getting cancer. I find it strange that first disease they bring up are ones that barely anyone has, and we can’t do anything about now. First cousins in my family married each other and had children. None of them got these diseases.
There is needless suffering in the islands due to the elderly unable to afford good health care. When our insurance does not cover pre-existing conditions, and has such low limits for coverage even for new conditions, where is a person on a tiny pension supposed to go when they are ill?
Apply to Nau every time they need new pills or a medical test? How demeaning and a waste of everyones time.
We need a government sponsored healthcare arrangement for our seniors where their every medical need is automatically covered, pre-existing or not, without them having to worry about who is going to pay for it.
Our seniors built all of the things we enjoy today and should be able to enjoy their retirement years without the constant worry of medical bills.
George Town Hospital can’t refuse care, they don’t need to worry about “bills”.
I’ve been refused care there. I have always paid my bills on time and in full, but last time I went for a small procedure I was asked to pay in full before it would be carried out. And then last year I was asked to pay for a mammogram before they would do it. I didn’t quite have enough to pay so I was turned away.
then go to the breast cancer charity
The burden of health care becomes worse as we open our arms to other countries liability. An increase in population has added to the problem.
The burden of health care becomes worse as we open our arms to other countries liability.
Why are we allowing the increase which is fueling demand on the services?
monthy deaths from all causes data must be collected and that should include
– deaths from cancer
– deaths from cancer treatments
– deaths from CVD
– deaths from the most contagious viruses and bacteria
– accidental deaths
– complications after surgery/treatments deaths
– still born
– infants deaths
– deaths from congenital abnormalities
It is difficult, if not impossible, to separate deaths from a disease per se and its treatment.
It’s said that people don’t die from cancer, they die from treatments. Cancer treatments are still barbaric. Not much progress was made since 70s. The chemical concoctions they drip into your veins are more complex. The radiation rays they nuke you with are more precise and stronger, still your progress is measured by 5 years survival. Human bodies weren’t designed to be nuked and poisoned.
There are exceptions of course, some types of cancers can be cured. Very few though. People are different and some do survive and beat cancer. What their secret is, nobody knows. Cancer is a systemic, not organ disease and some people have very strong will to live and beat cancer-those have higher rates of cancer cure. Yes, cure, not just remission.
So nobody dies from untreated cancer, unless they decide not to subject themselves to treatments. If a person dies during a treatment, his exact cause of death is impossible to determine.