Allowing the spread of C19; China-fying; ramifications of vaccination and advice from medical experts

 

2021/05/28

Poor Cassandra! Like many others of her ilk – in the vulnerable group of the over 65s -but with no clout and more importantly, no desire or inclination to jump queues or go behind people asking for a favoured jab in the upper arm with the A-Z vaccine, she is despairingly fading with no sign of the second dose being given. The blame is totally on the government which should have ordered the vaccine well in time. No, they were preoccupied with other matters. And then to hear all sorts are getting vaccinated by fowl means, certainly. Such a beautiful, wonderful country with an on-average intelligent population and manageable, going the way of the US under Trump, Mexico under Bolsonaro, India under Modi. The first of these villainous murderers, yes murderers since they allowed the Covid 19 pandemic to rage stronger in their countries for the sake of their economies and due to their crass stupidity and pride, Trump, was roundly defeated in his second presidential bid. More is coming to him – accusation for siege on the Capitol and non-payment of taxes et al. His Republican mates are fast leaving the sinking man. Bolsonaro, riding high on imagined idolized status due to looks and pride is facing conviction of the crime of murder for criminal neglect of duty, Cass has read. Modi and his ultra–Hindu party will sink at the next parliamentary election. The millions who died in India due to unpreparedness by the government to tackle the pandemic wisely and effectively will reach up from their graves or mounds of ash to ghostly grab Modi by this throat.

In contrast to these three is Biden. In 100 days, he turned the US around so that now many States boast 100% vaccination of adults and they go about sans masks and lead almost pre-Covid lives.

 

New moves

Notice has been drawn to the fact that one of the three languages used by Sri Lanka was substituted for by an entirely new language: Tamil omitted and Chinese Mandarin inserted in a name board in the AG’s Department and Mt Lavinia railway station which went a step further and omitted both Sinhala and Tamil and catered only to Europeans and Chinese. People are going to town singing the new national anthem of Namo Namo Cheena or some such variation.

We seek consolation from Chinese economic colonialism fast moving to the total by saying we will be dead and gone when we are a colony of China. Two loud questions interpose themselves here. What about your children and their children? What about you wanting to be reborn a woman again in Sri Lanka; rebirth being a sure happening?

Cass quotes a gentleman of real class who is a retired private company CEO. She chats if he is walking beside his home across the road and she is perambulating up and down her drive. Her heart went out to him in sympathetic understanding when he declared very earnestly with anger and strong emotion: This government won’t allow me to die in peace after serving my country for so many long years.

 

Valuably informative panel discussion

Cass has mentioned several times before in these conversations she has with you on Fridays that the MTV1 Channel Monday night Face the Nation Programme is very good and excellent when Shameer Rasooldeen is moderator/anchor. I must admit that though I have heard certain Sinhala panel discussions are excellent, being explicit too, I don’t follow any, nor other English medium discussions. But though I cannot judge this programme is best, I categorically pronounce it is superior, very informative and bold.

On Monday 24 May the panel consisted of four eminent medical men: Dr B S C Perera, Consultant Pediatrician; Dr Rajiva de Silva, Immunologist – Assoc of Medical Specialists; Dr Vasan Ratnasingam, Media Officer – GMOA; Dr Lakmal Fernando, President – Association of Medical Associations. Rasooldeen moderated with three young journos to question the panel.

Much useful info came through the discussion of the Covid 19 situation in Sri Lanka. It emerged that quite some time ago medical specialists in a group wrote and informed the President that the best way to curb the third wave from rising higher was to order a lockdown. He did not listen to them for economic reasons. (Please read the editorial in Tuesday 25 May The Island which was delivered in print copy. One thing he Ed said is that if lockdowns are not strictly enforced there would be the factories in working order but no workers…!)

Some of the main points that emerged from Face the Nation 24/5 were that the lockdown was imposed only after local medical specialists living overseas like Prof Malik Peris almost demanded a 14-day lockdown. It was still imperative to observe set guidelines: washing of hands, wearing two masks for better protection, social distancing and staying quietly at home. We can and we should do these. Easy really for oldies, especially.

Talking on vaccines, the expert in this field Dr Rajiva de Silva said that vaccination would most certainly curb the spread of the disease but it could be contained by following health guidelines too. He agreed with a journalist that it was most regrettable that no forward planning, no timely booking of the A-Z and /or other vaccines was done. About mixing vaccines, he said it was the opinion of experts that Astra Zeneca could be mixed with a second dose of Pfizer or Sputnik (the second if my memory is right)

Dr Perera said that though there were Covid cases among children it was not a pandemic among them. The cases that were detected were very well treated in the Lady Ridgeway Children’s hospital which he went for consultations, and they worked closely with the IDH and other hospitals.

Although Shameer pronounced this programme was meant to be far from confrontational, and designed to ask questions that would be in the minds of the public, Dr Ratnasingam was confronted by the three journos and Shameer himself over the GMOA’s demand for the parents of their members to be prioritized in second dose A-Z vaccination. The GMOA doctor defended his Association and their claim by insisting the GMOA meant parents of all health workers. The reaction to the GMOA claim had already been roused and roars of ‘we will cease our work if … ‘was heard from other medical and health trade unions. We the listening public smirked since we had bad memories of GMOA actions and also parents seemed to mean entire extended families receiving the few available doses of the A-Z vaccine.

A final summation was that one of the panelists said we had not lost all hope; Sri Lanka was not on the brink of disaster as India was. We were close there but with quick government or Task Force action hearkening to wise advice of medical specialists who had banded together, we could be pulled back from staring and being pushed into a blistering, blasting C19 epidemic with lives being saved; never mind the economy, Cass adds.