Dr Laws confirms two cases of Omicron variant in St Kitts and Nevis

As the fourth wave of the Covid-19 pandemic hit the Federation of St Kitts and Nevis, Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Hazel Laws confirmed the presence of a new variant of Covid-19 Omicron.

Two cases of Omicron variation of concern have been discovered from the country.

On December 22, 2021, Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) processed genome sequencing for three samples given by the Health authorities of St Kitts and Nevis. Of which two samples recovered positive for the Omicron variant.

“WHO has labelled the new variant as a variant of concern (VOC), and when we look at these two samples, it became evident that the Federation has been exposed to the new variant of COVID-19. Moreover, another variant named Lambda present in the circulation for the past seven months”, CMO Dr Laws added.

Dr Laws also confirmed the presence of two variants, i.e. Omicron and Lambda in St Kitts and Nevis.

By highlighting the significance of Vaccination, she asserted,” Vaccination plays an essential role in the campaign against the Covid-19 pandemic. The Ministry of Health has administered enough doses of vaccine to the population of the Federation. Moreover, we have conducted a successful drive of Vaccination in the nation.

The booster doses of vaccines such as Pfizer/BioNTech are available in the entire Federation. She said,” To combat the viral infection in St Kitts and Nevis, and all eligible people are advised to get vaccinated.

Dr Laws stated,” Omicron variant will affect those people who are unvaccinated and vulnerable. We have analysed that sixty-eight percent of the positive cases are not vaccinated, and twenty-six percent are fully inoculated, while the remaining seven percent are partially inoculated.

“I urged the people who are not vaccinated, update themselves with the latest information and get vaccinated to save themselves from the deadly virus. Vaccination is the only way to contain the Covid-19 and its new variant Omicron,” Dr Laws pointed.