It’s intriguing how Trinidadians have embraced the strictness of life with COVID. There is little that concentrates the mind more than fear and fear of the unknown is a horrible thing. Almost as bad, is a bit of knowledge. We’ve always known that most people know little about their bodies, about the location of their organs, of the way their bodies function, in health and in disease. One wonders what children learn in primary and secondary school biology but then too many of their teachers do not know nor do they, in my experience, want to know about the difference between the liver and the spleen, a virus or a bacteria, a “cold” or “sinus”. I fear for my sinus patients in the future who are going to be refused school entry because their noses are runny or they are coughing or they will be found to have a skin temperature over 37.5 degrees in the mistaken belief that they have COVID-19 or 20 or 21 or 26.
All of this nonsense of not allowing children with a cold into schools began with the “swine flu” outbreak in 2009 1 and it’s going to be far worse with the SARS 2-CoV virus. This outbreak combines fear of the unknown (China, “wet” markets, bats, pangolins) with a little knowledge (Trump, Gates, 5G, the media, the average Trinidadian).
One of the more improbable sights of the lockdown has been the sight of masked persons driving around in their air-conditioned SUVs as if the virus was just waiting to attack them as they slowed down to turn the corner by the church in St. James. This weekend we had the pseudo edifying sight of seeing live football on TV. There are apparently physical distancing rules in effect in this physical contact sport and if that does not bring home to you a sense of ridiculousness in this year of COVID, little will. High fives are banned so after a goal, one is treated to the sight of discrete elbow touches among players who have just been bouncing off and clawing at each other’s shoulders and legs like maniacs.
It was no surprise to be asked the other day, “When the vaccine come doctor”, notice the optimism, not if but when, “when the vaccine get here, you going to recommend it?”
Well, despite the media hype, the vaccine isn’t going to be here for a couple of years. It’s not only the process of making sure it is protective, that’s the easier part, it’s the safety aspect that is key to its use. With vaccines, you are not treating a disease where people are willing to accept side effects in the expectation of getting better. With a vaccine you are introducing a substance into the body of healthy people and if the vaccine makes too many people sick then it’s not going to be accepted. How much is too many and how sick is too sick? One in a hundred? One in a thousand? One in ten thousand? A four hour fever? A day in bed? A week home vomiting?
It takes thousands of people trials to be able to come up with a vaccine with acceptable side effects.
If a safe, effective vaccine does become available, of course I am going to take it and recommend it to people. I am of the generation that saw diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, polio, measles, mumps, rubella (German measles), epiglottis and meningitis disappear from our lives. Not decrease. Disappear. I cannot forget going onto the Children’s Wards at Port of Spain General in 1977 and seeing for the first time babies with tetanus (lockjaw) and whooping cough, blind children, brain damaged from measles and congenital rubella. I can not forget returning ten years later to the wards at Rainbow Children’s Hospital in Cleveland and asking the Chief Resident, ‘where are the meningitis cases?’ and being told with a smile, ‘we don’t see that any more, the vaccine eliminated them’ and we in TT were still seeing cases because we had not started our meningitis vaccine program.
Carnival 1972 was moved from February to May because of the polio outbreak. It looks very much as if there will be no Carnival at all in 2021.