About three years after the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, it continues to affect us all.
Although vaccines have provided substantial protection from severe disease, Covid-19 remains deadly for certain patients – mostly the unvaccinated – and there are multiple new variants circulating around the world.
The virus keeps evolving, and this means that we will continue to see new waves of infection for the foreseeable future.
However, a certain level of fatigue has set in – stemming from the ongoing response over three years, the need for multiple booster shots and continued dedication of resources to the pandemic – and this needs to be guarded against. There are lessons that need emphasis.
For instance, there are strong indications that vaccinated individuals continue to be resilient against new infections. Importantly, new information has led to policy shifts and updates to align our practices with our evolving understanding of the pandemic, such as how the guidelines on masking changed over time, or how recommendations for boosters are rolled out now as new data on virus strains and breakthrough infection frequency are obtained.
This new phase of consolidating and building on the evolving knowledge in tackling Covid-19 requires transparent and science-driven communication and community outreach.
The former involves communicating the ways that vaccines work, their safety profiles and the advantages of each vaccine platform. Miscommunication and mistrust surrounding vaccines remain causes of poor booster uptake against newly emerging variants.
We continue to hear good news about the efficacy of vaccines.
This story is from the December 01, 2023 edition of The Straits Times.
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This story is from the December 01, 2023 edition of The Straits Times.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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