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‘What we are seeing highlights need to be vaccinated’
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Posted on Nov 09 2021
Contact tracing and investigation by the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. appear to show that clusters of new community cases of COVID-19 appear to be highest in households with children who were ineligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
This was learned from CHCC chief executive officer Esther L. Muña, who also said during Gov. Ralph DLG Torres’ radio news briefing last Friday that it was still reassuring that secondary and tertiary contacts to these clusters are testing negative. She credited this to the CNMI’s high vaccination numbers, saying that being vaccinated and in large numbers “has substantially reduced the burden of disease,” prevented vaccinated individuals from contracting serious illnesses, and has helped interrupt the chains of COVID-19 transmission.
Muña reminded, though, that vaccinated individuals can still become infected and potentially spread the virus. This, however, happens at much lower rates compared to unvaccinated individuals, she said.
“What we are seeing underscores the need to vaccinate and protect not only yourself but others who are not vaccinated. …[The] CNMI having over 83% of eligible vaccinated and over 89% of adults already receiving their first dose [has] substantially reduced the burden of disease and prevented serious illness and interrupted the chains of transmission,” said Muña.
She said she and CHCC are looking forward to receiving a shipment of over 2,000 pediatric doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine intended for children aged 5-11, and added that many parents have already reached out to her asking how and when they can get their children vaccinated. These vaccines arrived last Saturday, and are currently available at the Pedro P. Tenorio Multi-Purpose Center vaccination site.
