Amid the unprecedented distribution of Covid-19 in the Americas, the Pan-American Health Organization (OPS) on Wednesday called for the benefit of rapid antigen testing for symptomatic humans.
“We call on countries to extend community-level testing to alleviate pressure on hospitals, which work overtime,” said the director of the OPSCarissa Etienne.
“Because we are facing a shortage of Covid-19 tests, the OPS recommends that countries prioritize rapid antigen testing for people who experience Covid-19 symptoms and are at risk of spreading the virus, ”he added.
Etienne said that rapid antigen testing gives results in minutes, not days, does not require specialized training or expensive equipment, and can be implemented in primary health centers near people’s homes.
“It is critical that countries use testing wisely,” he stressed.
Since the pandemic was declared in March 2020, the molecular biology test has been used PCR (polymerase chain reaction), very precise but requires laboratory analysis.
Later the World Health Organization (WHO) approved “affordable and reliable” rapid antigen tests to detect covid-19.
Peak in the Caribbean
The OPS He said the United States alone reported nearly 7.2 million new cases of Covid-19 and more than 15,000 deaths related to the disease in the past week alone.
“We are still in the midst of the pandemic,” Etienne stressed, noting new peaks in infections, not only of the delta variant, but of the new omicron strain, more contagious and on its way to being the most dominant to unsettle.
US Y Canada continues to experience an increase in coronavirus hospitalizations, while Panama, Costa Rica and Honduras report the highest number of new infections in Central America, more than doubling the number of cases in the past week.
The Caribbean is experiencing the sharpest rise in Covid-19 infections since the start of the pandemic two years ago. The OPS He said infections in Martinique increased by more than 600% and in Saint Martin by more than 135%.
Colombia, Peru, Brazil and Bolivia have also seen an increase in cases, while hospitalizations in Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina are increasing.
“More active than ever”
“Although omicron infections appear to be milder, we still urge caution because the virus is spreading more actively than ever,” Etienne said, warning that it can be serious and deadly in people who are not fully vaccinated or already existing. conditions have.
“Omicron causes hospitalizations and deaths and even the less severe cases flood health centers. The new spate of infections is by no means light for our health systems,” he stressed.
Before the new wave of Covid-19the OPS He renewed the call to be vaccinated and maintain the use of masks and social distance.
More than 60% of the inhabitants of Latin America and the Caribbean have their full anticoagulant vaccination schedule, but 10 countries have not reached the target of 40% of the population immunized by 31 December 2021. Among them, Haiti is the only one that has done so. does not reach 20%, the minimum threshold for caring for health workers and the most vulnerable population.
The purpose of OPS is to vaccinate at least 70% of the population of the Americas by mid-2022.
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Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx