July 7, 2021
By Mohamed M. Sesay
In support to government for people have more covid-19 test, the Global infectious Diseases Consultant Dr. Rajeev Fernado has yesterday the 6th of July, disclosed to A-Z News that in two weeks’ time he will donate Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) machine through Caravanes Solidarity.
In an exclusive interview, Dr. Fernado intimated that one of the most important means of combating the Delta Variant strain is for people to be tested because the Delta Variant has a mild symptoms such as little headache, little fever, and people will just see it as usual signs. He added that is how the Delta Variant present itself very differently and it is the most infectious and very dangerous strain of covid-19 pandemic.
Dr. Fernado further encouraged Sierra Leoneans to have themselves vaccinated adding that, covid-19 vaccination is safe and can save lives. He said that people would not have been existing in the world if vaccines were not invented for certain diseases particularly the Polio Vaccine. Unfortunately he said there are a lot of disinformation on social media about the vaccine where every single side effect of the vaccine is brought up. He therefore explained that if people get fever or some bodily pain after taking the vaccine, he considered it as a very good sign which means someone’s immune system is acting very well.
He added that all medications including Paracetamol also have their own little side effect and the covid-19 vaccine is not an exception. He warned Sierra Leoneans that the only way people lives will be saved is to get themselves fully vaccinated.
Dr. Fernado also disclosed that he has been to richer countries as well as poorer countries but said the biggest challenges he encounters in smaller countries is that people do not believe that covid-19 is a bad diseases. He noted that there are very simple preventive measures which are the wearing of face mask of which nobody want to do that in smaller countries. He therefore encouraged doctors and other healthcare givers to continue educating people about the importance of wearing face mask.
He also mentioned that the other thing he noticed poorer countries is that they do not get the covid-19 vaccine on time which he considered as very unfair to poor countries. He stressed that it is his biggest concern for African Continent with only 2% of the continent that has been vaccinated so far. He warned that African Continent will face a very severe diseases on the continent because he said the more poor the continent is, the more severe the diseases especially when there are lack of infrastructure and lack of healthcare workers.
Dr. Fernado continued that there is a COVAX programme which is global where all the G-7 leaders have come together and agreed to send vaccination support to the African continent but said such is not happening fast enough as expected. He also warned that if the covid-19 vaccine is not coming to the continent quickly as expected then people definitely have to die with the new Delta strain. He also assured that the efficaciousness of the vaccine is only when someone takes full dose of the vaccine.
“I would like to say that I am a diseases infectious specialist and I like to understand more about science which means I will just jump on a plane and go to some places in order to understand what is going on at in such places. In 2014, I came to Sierra Leone in order to understand more about the Ebola Pandemic. So that is my nature if something wrong is going on in the world I will go there and give my advice and I am so happy to come back to Sierra Leone and I am here to give advice on the current covid-19 pandemic in the country”, said Dr. Fernado.
He noted that Healthcare workers don’t have enough protection coupled with people not wearing face mask and that is the more reason he is concern about Sierra Leone. He has promised to National Covid-19 Emergency Response Center (NaCOVERC) to further discuss existing covid-19 situation in the country.
He encouraged the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, NaCOVERC and the government by extension, to put more pressure on the G-7 countries in order to bring more vaccines into the country. He also reiterated the need for people to get tested adding that, only one person could be a super spreader of the Delta Variant Strain. He said he has visited hospitals and talked to doctors in those hospitals has made a pretty stable assessment and therefore suggested for the country to start doing vaccine incentivization wherein government should start giving gift to people who went to take the vaccine which will lure people to be massively vaccinated.
“Vaccination saves lives and have yourself vaccinated which is the only way Sierra Leone will get out of the covid-19 pandemic”, he assured..