• Friday, March 29, 2024
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COVID-19: Unvaccinated nurse, one other die in Edo

COVID-19: Unvaccinated nurse, one other die in Edo

An unvaccinated frontline health worker at Auchi General Hosptial in Estako West local government area of Edo State has died of COVID-19.

The deceased was among the two deaths recorded on Friday, taking the number of COVID-19-related deaths in Edo to 35.

Osamwonyi Irowa, permanent secretary, Edo State ministry of health, who disclosed to newsmen in Benin City, said the 56-year-old male nurse had underlying ailments.

“We lost a health worker to COVID-19 and, sadly, these persons dying are not vaccinated, including the health worker. Nobody is immune, whether you are a health worker or a non-health worker, everyone is at risk but health workers are more at risk.

“We have interrogated our mortalities; we have recorded 35 deaths of both sexes. We realise they had one form of ailment or the other, commonest among them is hypertension and diabetes mellitus,” Irowa said.

Irowa said most of the deaths would have been preventable if not for the effect of COVID-19 which potentiates the severity of the primary ailments putting the patients at risk.

Read also: New data suggest unvaccinated persons are 11 times more likely to die from COVID-19

The permanent secretary identified late visit to hospitals as a factor that increases mortality in the management of cases, noting that early diagnosis can lead to proper treatment and minimise deaths.

“Most importantly, we are seeing people dying within 24 hours of presentation. We observed there is late referral even though they are COVID-19 positive, there are things that can be done. We are working on case definitions and early referral in private centres,” he said

He, however, dispelled the rumour making the rounds on social media that there is a contaminated vaccine that claims lives after it has been administered, saying that they have always followed up and managed any case of adverse reactions.