Seychelles is 60% vaccinated, but infections are still increasing.Not as bad as I expected

At face value, the facts In Seychelles, where vaccination rates are very high, the question remains whether countries can vaccinate themselves from a pandemic.

However, experts and local authorities say the outbreak in Seychelles is not a sign that the vaccine is not functioning.

In any case, tropical countries remind us that even countries with high levels of vaccination cannot be vigilant.

Seychelles situation

About a month ago, Seychelles was so confident in handling the Covid-19 that it lifted most tourist restrictions.

Foreign Minister Sylvestre Radegonde said the virus was likely to have been in the country for a long time as the vaccination made people more satisfied, but what led to the spread? Not clear. Improved contact tracing and testing also helped authorities catch more cases.

“In the past few months, after vaccination, we have found that no one has become seriously ill, no one has died, and no one has many complications,” he said. Stated. The islanders, who said he loved parties, continued to socialize without taking precautions. “People have relaxed their vigilance.”

The government has not released data on the vaccines they received, but said that about 37% of positive cases between the week and May 8 were fully vaccinated. The government has not released data on the age breakdown of Covid-19 patients.

Radegonde said Thursday that only two people were in the intensive care unit in the country.

“The conclusion is that the vaccine protects people. Vaccinated people have no complications,” said Radegonde. “We are confident that the vaccines (both) have helped the country. Things would have gotten worse.”

CNN is seeking comment from the Seychelles Ministry of Health and medical institutions.

This tells us about vaccines

For some, those vaccinated with Covid’s illness seem to suggest that the vaccine is not working. However, local governments, experts, and the World Health Organization (WHO) say that Seychelles’ experience is largely in line with expectations.

Dr. Richard Michgo, Vaccine Preventable Disease Program Coordinator at the WHO Regional Office in Africa, said Seychelles data show that the Covid-19 vaccine is very effective in preventing severe illness, hospitalization and death. I said that it matches the evidence.

“There is no reason why the disease will not continue to spread until everyone is protected,” he said in an email, adding the WHO team. We continue to review data, assess progress, and understand national trends.

Michael Z. Lin, an associate professor of neurobiology and biotechnology at Stanford University, said the vaccine efficacy rate is still about 20% of the population infected with the virus, even if everyone is vaccinated. He said it meant easy.

“It’s not surprising that the virus continues to infect some people, a breakthrough unvaccinated case,” he said.

But positively, vaccinated people seemed less likely to be hospitalized in Covid than unvaccinated people, he said.

Of course, there are gaps in the data. This is important for a better understanding of how vaccines work.

For example, the proportion of positive cases who adopted Covishield compared to Sinopharm is not clear.

What does this mean for life after vaccination?

Seychelles reminds us that even after extensive vaccination, the infection is unlikely to stop altogether.

Jeremy Lim, associate professor of Saw Swee Hock at the National University of Singapore (NUS), said available vaccines can reduce serious infections, but provide sterile immunity (or complete protection) against Covid-19. I can not do it. Faculty of Public Health.

“It probably just reflects how naive we are, how stupid and optimistic we are,” he said.

However, Cathy Berry, a professor of immunology at Murdoch University in Perth, states that the situation in Seychelles is not always reflected around the world.

Vaccination is “desirable” rather than being unprotected and exposed to a 1% mortality rate for the disease, Lin said. “The vaccine was very effective in preventing death,” Lin added. “It’s definitely better to get the vaccine available than to wait for the perfect one.”

Attention story

Seychelles is a vaccine success story. But it’s also a warning story that vaccines aren’t a panacea and that countries need to be aware of new variants and infections, Berry said.

“We are all competing for vaccination, but we still need to remember social distances, and fresh air and masks are very good at preventing infections,” she said. Told. “I think it will take a long time.”

Bouey said there is growing consensus among public health experts that vaccines are important for mitigating Covid-19, but infections and outbreaks cannot be ruled out.

“The Covid will not disappear suddenly,” said Lim of the National University of Singapore. “The most likely scenario is that the world needs to live with Covid.”

That is certainly the attitude of Seychelles, whose tourism industry was devastated last year. With the spread of vaccination, Mr. Radegonde said he was less concerned about getting a serious illness from Covid. The greater concern was the potential impact of a larger number of cases on the economy.

So far, there has been no impact-about 500 visitors arrive each day, said Tourism Minister Radegonde.

“If things get so bad that tourists don’t come, it’s going to be a big worry,” he said. “Seychelles remains open to visitors. We welcome everyone. We have no intention of changing it.”

Seychelles seems to have adopted the view that Covid with mild symptoms is an acceptable price to pay.

But while it was okay for Covid to circulate in their population, the country had to do more than just vaccination, Lim said. This included proper border control, extensive testing, and hospitals capable of coping with outbreaks.

“Once 60% of the population has been vaccinated, we can’t give up our public health guidance,” said Lin of Stanford University.