COVID still claiming local lives 3 years after lockdown

| 17/03/2023 | 25 Comments

(CNS): There were three COVID-related deaths last month among hospital patients, all of whom had underlying comorbidities. Three years after the government locked down the country and closed the borders, 17 people who were admitted to hospital last month, including those admitted for unrelated reasons, were positive for the virus, officials said in the latest edition of the monthly Public Health Spotlight.

Genomic sequencing data shows that almost all of the 217 SARS-CoV-2 samples sequenced from mid-December to mid-January were positive for the Omicron variant. Almost half of the cases (47%) were BA.5 subtypes and 41% were BA.2, but another 10% couldn’t be classified. Among the BA.2 sub-groups, the newly detected XBB.1.5 has quickly become the dominant version of the virus.

“This aligns to international reporting and analysis in the variant technical briefing from the UK Health Security Agency, stating XBB.1.5 to have the most competitive growth rate, alongside XBB.1.9.1, which has not yet been identified in the Cayman Islands,” officials said.

Test samples have dropped significantly as PCR testing is no longer a public health requirement, so the only indication of the continued circulation of the virus remains the number of people admitted to the hospital, which has remained at a similar level for several months.

The fall in COVID-19 PCR tests being processed means that Public Health will only be reporting SARS-CoV-2 genomic sequencing data on a quarterly basis, further reducing the public’s knowledge about the extent of the virus, which is still circulating widely in the community.

Public Health also said that during this winter season, both influenza A and B have been circulating in Cayman, and since the New Year, an increasing proportion of influenza B has been reported. Results from 35 Influenza A samples identified from late November 2022 to early January 2023 found that H3N2 made up 80% (28/35) and H1N1 accounted for the rest.

Because the number of samples identified was small and taken from a particular sub-group of the population, namely those attending hospital, these proportions do not reflect the prevalence of these strains in the whole population.

Officials also noted that the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has reported an increase in the number of chikungunya cases and deaths in the region compared to previous years. But no cases of that virus have been reported in the Cayman Islands since 2019.

See the full edition of the Public Health Spotlight below:


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Category: Health, Medical Health

Comments (25)

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  1. Boosted says:

    Omicron-specific booster shot (Moderna) is now available to kids over 12 years old – helpful with Covid doing the rounds yet again in schools.

    My kid just got theirs and they’re absolutely fine. Not even a sore arm.

  2. Resident of Walkers Road South says:

    Covid is till claiming lives of the old and younger folks as no one cares about it anymore. We have caregivers entering old people’s home as if they do not care about the people that they are taking care of. Why would you spend $5.99 on a LFT test to test yourself and you make $ 6.00 an hour that means that you are going home with absolutely nothing. They are the ones taking COVID into the homes of the people they care for. It’s all about the economy and nothing about the people who built this Islands to what it is today. It’s not until it touches home with the ones you love that they will think differently. One another topic why is so many young/old people dying of Heat attacks etc. It must be the side effect of the vaccine.

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  3. Anonymous says:

    Anti-vaxxing morons still claiming lives three years on.

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  4. watcher says:

    The vaccines are also ‘claiming lives’ and will continue to, however we don’t have any measure of tracking that, and I don’t believe the CIG would do so, even if there were such a metric. Why? Because we did as we were told, and enforced the vaccine.

    It’s too late for regrets. The vaccine saved many, many lives, but it also cost some. This is an issue best left for the analysts of the future. They will judge us properly.

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  5. Anonymous says:

    Insensitive bastards; “with” or “from” bs! Someone’s family members died! RIP.

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    • Beaumont Zodecloun says:

      I hear you and agree. Our people have perished. Many of them were sucessfully managing their comorbidities prior to contracting Covid.

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  6. Anonymous says:

    There’s so many ways to die while in a hospital…Pharmacogenomics are still in an embryonic state.
    One “common” medicine is given to patients to prevent or stop nausea (often unnecessary) It is given to children, adults and elderly without proper evaluation and monitoring. It is even given to pregnant women. Yet it can cause a fatal cardiac arrhythmia.

    The quality of hepatic metabolism and age of a patient can prolong this medicine half life increasing chances of the adverse effect occurrence.

    Another factor is Plasma levels of a patient. Blood flow to the liver can decrease as much as thirty percent with a change in posture in some patients which would compromise hepatical clearance of drugs which are largely dependent on blood pressure and posture. For instance, Lidocaine can cause toxicity and seizures if this phenomenon occurs.

    The quality of administration of this medicine such as defining dose in mg/kg, concentration of drug in compatible solutions and infusion rapidity rate also affect the risk of fatal cardiac arrhythmia.

    This particular anti nausea medicine is given preventatively during all surgeries. And if a patient dies during or after a surgery, the medicine won’t be mentioned anywhere, or the cardiac arrhythmia. The cause of death would be complications during or after a surgery. When in fact this “common” medicine was the cause if death. Once fatal arrhythmia starts it can’t be reversed.

    So people are still dying in hospitals only covid is never the main reason. And doctors still giving this medicine left and right.

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  7. Anonymous says:

    “With” Covid, not “from”.

    How many died from cancer during this same timeframe?

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  8. Anonymous says:

    said it before… no-one in cayman who is relatively healthy, under 70, who is vaxxed, will die from covid.
    this is 100% fact as of today.
    if at risk, get vaxxed.

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    • Realist says:

      I don’t understand why people are downvoting this comment (not from me). It is demonstrably true.

      Is it that a certain section of society enjoyed getting handouts during the covid hysteria, and they rather miss getting free money from other people’s hard work?

      If not, then what? Feel free to explain yourselves, naysayers.

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      • Anonymous says:

        People downvote it because the poster constantly repeats it and it’s not completely true. There have been plenty of cases where otherwise healthy middle-aged and even young people have died from COVID. It’s exceedingly rare but it exists. It may be that this has happened to one or more persons in Cayman also. How would the poster know? If the poster had any intelligence, he or she might change their repetitive post to say that it’s very unlikely for a young healthy vaccinated person to die from COVID. Most sensible people would agree with this statement. In any case the post doesn’t add any value to the discussion and people are sick of it.

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        • Anonymous says:

          i’m the op.
          we know it has never happened in cayman cos we are told how people with covid die and their general age.
          btw…please read last line where i am actively promoting use of vaccine that will hopefully save lives.
          overall, the world must never repeat the same mistakes of the the covid response and associated lockdowns …. something that the entire world will be dealing with for a generation.

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          • Anonymous says:

            Let me try to explain: The reason people downvote your post is that you are saying that no vaccinated person under 70 has died from Covid in Cayman and that you have access to all of their medical records so you can definitively say that they were or weren’t otherwise healthy? It’s obvious that this isn’t the case.

            If you acknowledge that this occasionally happens in places other than Cayman (as has been well-documented), it would stand to reason that it may happen here if it hasn’t already, despite the fact that it’s rare. That’s why your post is annoying and adds no value. Please stop posting it.

      • Anonymous says:

        It is because this broken record wants to minimise the impact of Covid, and also — let’s face it — this guy is an annoying asshole serial poster.

        Say what you think once or twice, thrice or a slight bit more. To repeat a broken and made-up statistic is just an irritant.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Because it isn’t true. Plenty of healthy people under 70 have died. Whether in Cayman or not is not relevant. He is just a troll with double digit IQ and nothing better to do.

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      • Anonymous says:

        His basic narrative is that we should not worry or concern ourselves about the deaths of those over 50. He has never given us any credible statistics, and in the U.S. and other nations, his claim is markedly wrong and that statistic can be proved.

        Perhaps another facet is the now readily identifiable evidence that the mRNA vaccine has caused a great deal of harm. Everyone made their own choices, except those who were compelled by the government or their employers to get the jab or lose their wherewithall. I was once of those. I would never have elected to take the shot if my employer didn’t force me to under threat of job loss.

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      • Anonymous says:

        This tiresome bore is stuck in early 2020 unable to absorb new information. The rest of us have weathered an evolving virus, shifting priorities, and policy. The world witnessed two headline Olympic Games (and World Cup) where medal-ready, prime of life, super fit athletes have been sidelined or sturk-down completely by COVID.

        As of March 2023, Cayman is also in the top 20 globally with >95% single dose vexed and >93% double or more vaxed – not that it even matters much anymore. Persisting that there remains a vaccination gap, or that such further injection confers immunity or even a better ride, is just virtue-signalling rubbish.

    • Anonymous says:

      REALITY: majority of the socialised planet has already endured some version of COVID at least once since the inaugural vaccination derivative from late 2019. Many of us fit, and under 70 got our asses-kicked, even with 1-5 vaccine doses and varying EUA formulations. Some people have had it 3 or more times. Some have long-COVID and/or new problems from gene activations. Some people had a light first go, and a bruiser of a second, and vice versa. Everyone’s ride is different. So spare us the unsolicited mansplaining. People are still dying and it’s still really unfortunate and sad. Still no cures for stupid.

  9. Anonymous says:

    Waiting for the ‘I said it before and I will say it again….” troll to enter the chat room

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    • Beaumont Zodecloun says:

      I think he was ever hovering, just awaiting to strike.

      Pity him. He hasn’t much else to do.

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