[ad_1]
There has been an alarming increase in the number of pregnant women contracting Covid-19, the director of women’s health at the Ministry of Health, Dr Adesh Sirjusingh said yesterday.
In the past week alone, 68 pregnant women have tested positive for the virus, Sirjusingh revealed.
He was speaking yesterday at the ministry’s virtual press conference when he noted the increase in the number of cases among pregnant women.
“We now have 383 pregnant women in our database on Monday who have contracted Covid-19,” he said. “And I was here just a week ago and that number was 315. So an additional 68 women would have contracted Covid-19 since our last conversation. And it is very alarming. “
Sirjusingh said, “The numbers are increasing and pregnancy is of course considered a high risk situation. You are more likely to get very sick or end up in an intensive care unit (intensive care unit), and around the world we have seen maternal deaths. “
Trinidad and Tobago has recorded one maternal death linked to Covid to date.
Sirjusingh called on pregnant women to get vaccinated, noting that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been approved for pregnant women starting in their second trimester.
The Sinopharm vaccine is also approved for nursing mothers, he added.
Sirjusingh noted that the vaccines are administered at mass vaccination sites and at antenatal and postnatal clinics.
“We are trying to get the vaccines from the main antenatal clinics. I know the Eastern Regional Health Authority (ERHA) would have started this week. We are also targeting postnatal services in some of the RHAs, and this includes the use of Sinopharm for nursing mothers, as well as the Pfizer vaccination.
Sirjusingh stressed that the vaccines are safe, noting that more than 300,000 pregnant women have been vaccinated worldwide, with no reports of adverse effects.
He said the side effects of the vaccine are no different for a pregnant woman than for anyone else.
“In terms of safety, the mRNA vaccine lasts in your system for a very short time and triggers your immune system, then is cleared from your system. The vaccine does not cross the placenta. If you are breast-feeding, the vaccine does not pass into breast milk.
“The antibodies do cross the placenta, however, and the antibodies are excreted in breast milk and provide your baby with some level of protection,” he explained. “We have not seen any adverse pregnancy-related results globally or here in Trinidad and Tobago.”
In Trinidad and Tobago, more than 155 pregnant women have been vaccinated in a five-day period since the start of the program, and the ministry aims to vaccinate at least 1,000 eligible women each month, Sirjusingh said.
Daily cases on the rise
Cases of Covid-19 among pregnant women are not the only increase the country has seen, however.
Dr Maryam Abdool-Richards, chief medical officer of the institutions, said the total number of daily confirmed cases also showed a small but steady increase.
She noted that the moving average, which was around 200 since June and was at 209 last week, now stands at 215.
Additionally, she said the rate of new patient admissions continues to exceed the rate of discharge.
The occupancy rate at all Covid-19 facilities now stands at 37%, she said.
Abdool-Richards also stressed the importance of vaccination, noting that almost all patients admitted to the intensive care unit with complications from the virus were not fully vaccinated.
“Ninety-nine percent of people admitted to the intensive care unit have not been fully immunized and 99 percent of deaths from May 9 to today are people who have not been fully immunized », She declared during the press conference of the ministry.
“It can be interpreted as a tool that saves lives for people and prevents them from being hospitalized with Covid-19. “
[ad_2]
Source link