Resurgent Covid-19 should worry us all

A lab technician at Lancet Kenya collects samples for testing Covid- 19 from a man on April 22 2020.

Photo credit: Sila Kiplagat | Nation Media Group

What you need to know:

  • The reopening of social gathering areas such as schools, churches, entertainment centres and marketplaces has also resulted in increased human contact.
  • Schoolchildren, as has been documented in various research papers, are mainly carriers of the coronavirus.

The country is witnessing a significant rise in Covid-19 infections and this could be attributed to two possible reasons.

First, the relaxation of containment measures such as lockdown and travel restrictions obviously resulted in increased human movement and, hence, a higher rate of transmission. The reopening of social gathering areas such as schools, churches, entertainment centres and marketplaces has also resulted in increased human contact.

Secondly, there is a general relaxation in observing non-pharmaceutical protocals among the public, particularly, failure to wear face masks. Thirdly, schoolchildren, as has been documented in various research papers, are mainly carriers of the coronavirus. This implies that there is a possibility of children having contracted the novel pneumonia virus but are unconsciously passing it to susceptible parents, relatives and community members.

This is dangerous, given that there is still no vaccine to reduce transmission. This points to a situation where infections may surge even more if schools are allowed to resume in full.

Fourthly, and most important, the high cases of Covid-19 could be an indicator of mutation in SARS-COV2, the virus that causes Covid-19. That could have resulted in a very virulent strain that not only attacks individuals with high infectivity but also makes the virus highly transmissible.

Shortlived immunity

Mutations are driven by a number of factors but what should be investigated is whether the coronavirus has acquired mutations that now make it not susceptible to high environmental temperatures in Africa.

It is important to note that the shortlived immunity induced against Covid-19 has dimmed the possibility of depending on herd immunity to counter widespread infections.

Additionally, the chances of getting a Covid-19 vaccine are extremely low. All leading vaccine candidates have been shown not to confer longlasting neutralising immunity against Covid-19. No treatment exists for the virus and physicians are only treating symptoms while the leading drugs, such as hydroxychloroquine and anti-virals, have side-effects and limited efficacy.

Therefore, there is a need to enforce Ministry of Health safety protocols against Covid-19.

Dr P.M. Mutua, immunologist, Makueni

* * *

It’s unfortunate that we are carrying on with our activities normally even after enormous sensitisation and Health ministry warnings on escalating Covid-19 infection and death numbers.

Political leaders should lead by example. We’ve seen them and citizens flaunting the safety regaulations, mostly during rallies. 

Maxwell Kayere, Nandi