Perhaps, like many of us, you are holding thumbs that your long awaited holiday will take place after all, or that you will be able to finally see elderly relatives.

By now, we are well and truly versed in affairs related to the coronavirus, and COVID-19 fatigue is an actual ‘thing’. We all know the mantra of isolating, masking and hand washing, and let’s be honest, it has all become a tad boring.

Following two very hard years, we sort of feel that we’ve now earned the right to spend time with friends and family in any way we see fit. To go about as we please. Especially as the sunny days of December and January beckon, and many of us have some leave days to look forward to.

It makes sense to feel like lowering our defences, but that’s where we’d be making a huge mistake.

As such, my parting message to all Fedhealth members at the end of 2021 is to PLEASE, PLEASE GET VACCINATED IF YOU HAVEN’T ALREADY DONE SO.

The numbers don’t lie… vaccination works

Below you can see the numbers of vaccinated members who are hospitalised with COVID-19, versus unvaccinated members who are hospitalised with COVID-19, to illustrate the effectiveness of the vaccine in reducing disease severity and death.

The data has been taken from all the medical schemes administered by our administrator, Medscheme, for larger statistically significant calculations and conclusions.

* Some in the "Not vaccinated" group may have been vaccinated, but the Scheme has not received these vaccination claims.

What about Omicron?

Fedhealth has paid for a total of 4 043 admissions for confirmed COVID-19 with a resulting 657 deaths. (Seven additional deaths have been recorded since mid-October). Following the detection of Omicron, there is evidence of a fourth wave in COVID-19 positive hospital admissions. We can see that admissions are not yet at the level that we saw at the start of the previous waves. It is however, early days.

The start of the fourth wave is now clearly evidenced, with hospital admissions increasing in Gauteng and Free State at this point; but admissions overall remain low and about a quarter of where previous waves “started.” We will watch the trajectory closely, as the number of infections is certainly growing exponentially and there will be resultant hospitalisations (although hopefully at a lower level as a result of vaccine effort to date). Indications are there that the fourth wave is going to be dubbed “the wave of the unvaccinated” and we will monitor this very closely.  

How do we stay safe this festive season?

First of all, I’d like to share the graphic below as some food for thought. It shows your risk of socialising with unvaccinated vs. vaccinated people. Perhaps something to consider when making your plans?

There are loads of articles and anecdotal writings, even some calculators, to rank one’s score when it comes to the risk of COVID infection associated with various activities, but unfortunately, they are all from non-reputable sources, so we can’t be sure that these are backed by science.
 
Below, we’ve included a few good, reliable sources of information that you can trust for advice.
 

How to minimise the risk of COVID-19 if you go to a restaurant;

Remember to stay home if you have COVID-19 symptoms, or suspect you might have been in contact with a person who has tested positive for COVID-19:

1. Before eating, wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds.
2. Avoid using or sharing items that are reusable, such as menus, condiments, and any other food containers. Instead, use disposable or digital menus, and single serving condiments.
3. If you need to use the bathroom, push the door open by using your body and avoid using the hand-dryer. Rather wipe your hands with a paper towel or toilet paper.
4. Maintain a distance of 1,5m from other people, unless they are from your household.
5. Use touchless payment options as much as possible, if available.
6. While eating, your mask will be off. Avoid touching your mouth, nose and eyes.
7. Sit outside if you can, open spaces with moving air significantly decrease your risk of contracting the virus via airborne droplets.

How to minimise the risk of COVID-19 at social gatherings;

1. Wash your hands with soap and water as soon as you arrive.
2. Maintain a social distance of more than 1,5m at all times.
3. Gather outdoors or in well-ventilated areas. Before your family arrives, set up the tables and chairs far apart.
4. Wear your face mask at all times, except when eating.
5. Avoid kissing, hugging and touching each other.
6. Limit the number of individuals to less than 10 people.
7. Avoid putting out toys that the kids will have to touch and share (e.g. TV games).
8. Avoid serving buffet-style where people will be required to serve using the same utensils.
9. Have disposable cups and write each person’s name on them to avoid sharing cups or accidently drinking from someone else’s cup.
10. If someone in your household is high-risk (over the age of 65, lung disease, asthma, diabetes, heart or kidney disease), avoid hosting a family gathering at your home.

Source:

 https://www.nicd.ac.za/diseases-a-z-index/disease-index-covid-19/covid-19-prevention/
 

You can also watch a webinar by Prof Salim Abdool Karim for up-to-date statistics on vaccine efficacy, the Omicron variant, and other topical COVID-19 issues: https://www.facebook.com/GautengGeneralPractitionersCollaboration/videos/497134164938619/

More trustworthy sources of information:

• https://www.unicef.org/coronavirus/cleaning-and-hygiene-tips-help-keep-coronavirus-covid-19-out-your-home
• https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public
• https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/prevention.html(includes guidance on mask wearing)
• https://www.unicef.org/coronavirus/cleaning-and-hygiene-tips-help-keep-coronavirus-covid-19-out-your-home

I wish you and your family a healthy, happy festive season and the promise of a wonderful 2022!

Jeremy Yatt

Fedhealth Principal Officer