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Keeping Covid-19 at bay this Christmas may require wearing masks at home, limiting the number of people in the kitchen and going for a walk rather than gathering around the TV, according to the top Irish official at the World Organization of the Health.
Dr. Michael J. Ryan said that the “little decisions” people make could mean the difference between transmitting the virus and keeping elderly and immunosuppressed family members safe.
The WHO Executive Director spoke before a virtual ceremony where he will receive the 2020 Irish Bar Association Human Rights Award.
Dr. Ryan also warned that while vaccines would soon be ready, this simply represented “base camp” in the fight against the virus and that there would still be a mountain to climb in terms of implementing effective vaccination programs.
The Sligo native said he does not envy the decision the government has faced on how far the closure measures can be relaxed this Christmas.
“When people start mixing again, the number of diseases can start to increase,” he said.
“The question is what happens then. Do we go back to another wave of disease or do we have a more Asian outcome where we have much better control at a lower level and can maintain that control over time, to the point where large numbers of people are vaccinated? ”.
Dr Ryan said that Ireland had crushed the curve before and was, to his knowledge, the first country “to round the curve this time.”
“The people, the scientists and the government deserve some credit for that,” he said.
However, with regard to Christmas, he said there must be “an open discussion” between the Government and the communities.
Dr. Ryan said it was important for older people or people with underlying conditions to be aware of the risks and know how to reduce their own risks and their own exposure to others.
“It is also important that young people in those situations understand their responsibilities to reduce those risks to the elderly or those with underlying diseases,” he said.
“If I’m a student and I come home for Christmas and I’ve been mingling with a lot of young people in an area where the virus is, then I really, really need to think about where I sleep, where I go to the bathroom.
“Should I be in the little kitchen helping Mom make Christmas dinner or should I be doing what all young people prefer to do, going for a walk and not participating in the process?”
Dr. Ryan said that people needed to envision a home as an environment in which various activities occur and the “hot spots” that could arise during the holiday period.
“When everyone is in bed and sleeping soundly, everything is fine. So what are the times during the day when people get together and spend a lot of time in the same space within the home?
“Can we then find a way to reduce that risk by saying, ‘Look, there are only two people in this kitchen at a time? Would the other 15 of you get out of here?
“Maybe you can peel the potatoes and carrots in another room while someone prepares the food in the kitchen.
“Sorry to be simplistic, but these are the small decisions we make. The game of margins. What are the margins of exposure here?
“So maybe instead of everyone sitting after dinner, twelve people in a room watching the same TV with the windows closed, maybe people go for a walk, go out and have that conversation in a different setting.”
He called on people to consider wearing masks at home if they think they may pose a risk of infection.
“Actually, if you have a very vulnerable person in the house and you come from a place where you think you might be exposed, there are other options. Wear a mask yourself, ”he said.
“If you think you are not infected, but could be a risk to my parents or to my brother or sister who has a physical disability or an underlying condition, then maybe you should wear the mask.
“Maybe I should wash my hands three times an hour and I should be very careful that I am the potential person who could bring this disease into the house.
“That doesn’t make you a bad person. That makes you a person who needs to be more responsible and more aware of the risk it can bring home.
“If everyone just looks at their behavior and how they can minimize the risk to others, then I think we can remove the risk from the whole situation in that environment.”
Dr. Ryan spoke about the challenges that lie ahead now that vaccines are on the horizon.
“There are more than 250 vaccine candidates in the system. We have 50 in clinical trials. We have nine more in clinical trials in addition to the three that have proven effective. We have real tools now potentially at our disposal, ”he said.
“But as we’ve said here at WHO for the past few weeks, this is like getting to Mount Everest base camp.
“We have to go to base camp. Now we have to climb that mountain.
“That mountain is going to be completing those studies, ensuring the complete safety and efficacy of the vaccine, generating demand in our populations and dealing with misinformation around vaccines and ensuring that the logistics of vaccination programs are in place to deliver this vaccine to all who need it.
“I am more concerned with these barriers than the scientific ones.”
Dr Ryan said a key issue would be to combat vaccine misinformation through “quick and credible information.”
“We need to improve the use of [online] platforms that are there to communicate more effectively with people, ”he said.
“It couldn’t be more important than in the case of vaccination. It will be a tragedy, a real tragedy, if we end up with effective vaccines that are available but that people don’t want to take. That would be a tragedy. “
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