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* Vaccines alone won't suppress COVID surge4
http://www.hsvg.org/ Guahan Global Foundation
Guahan Global Foundation P.O. Box 206, Hagatna, GU 96932, USA
(November 15, 2024)Urge worldwide action to save the Pacific Lots of evidence recently suggested that islanders’ voices on climate action have finally been heard and brought to the global stage. We look forward to seeing leaders, experts, and activists from the Pacific community move further at the 29th United Nations Climate Conference, commonly referred to as COP29 and now happening in Azerbaijan, to facilitate more significant worldwide climate action to protect those on the frontlines.   Many people must have noticed that the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made a rare appearance at the opening of 2024 Pacific Islands Forum in August. According to UN’s press release, he declared in the opening remarks that “plastic pollution is chocking sealife. Greenhouse gases are causing ocean heating, acidification and rising seas. But Pacific islanders are showing the way to protect our climate, our planet and our ocean.”   Mr. Guterres stressed that the region urgently needs more financial support, capacities and technology to speed up the transition to clean energy and so countries can invest in adaption and resilience.   He also added, while the Pacific region is doing what it can, the Group of 20 (G20) most industrialized nations – the biggest emitters of carbon – must step up and lead by phasing the production and consumption of fossil fuels and stopping their expansion immediately.   “If we save the Pacific, we save the world,” the UN chief said.   The UN also released two reports on the sidelines of the forum. A regional report compiled by the World Meteorological Organization showed sea-surface temperatures in the south-west Pacific have risen three times faster than the global average since 1980. It also found that marine heatwaves in the region had roughly doubled in frequency since 1980 and become more intense and longer-lasting.   In addition, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded in 2021 that the global mean sea level was rising at rates unprecedented in at least the last 3,000 years as a result of human-induced global warming. And, the new UN report titled “Surging Seas in a Warming World” indicated “emerging research on climate ‘tipping points’ and ice sheet dynamics is raising alarm among scientists that future sea-level rise could be much larger and occur sooner than previously thought.”   The Pacific Islands Forum leaders eventually issued an official communique that emphasized “climate change continues to be a matter of priority to the Pacific region” and recognized “sea level rise is a sever manifestation of climate change that threatens Pacific communities.” Accordingly, leaders agreed to elevate the issue of sea level rise “politically,” including at the UN General Assembly.   2024 UN General Assembly in September literally arranged a high level plenary meeting on sea level rise. Leaders and experts recognized in the meeting that the existential threats, for example, livelihoods are destroyed, families gradually move, community cohesion is tested, and heritage is lost, are the hard realities many people in small island states and low-lying countries experience today, not the projections of a coming future. The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres therefore called for a strong financial outcome at COP29 to cope with threats caused by sea level rise.   Regarding financial outcome at COP29, it is worth noticing that this year’s conference is actually being called the “finance COP.” Following the historic agreement of creating a loss and damage fund at COP27 to compensate climate-vulnerable countries, COP28 has officially launched the fund. The finer details will be figured out at COP29 before the money actually starts flowing to nations in need next year.   Countries will also need to agree with a new global climate finance goal, known as the New Collective Quantified Goal. In addition to its total figure, COP29 will see discussion on several important terms of the NCQG, including who the donor base and recipients will be, how much will come from public and private sources, and whether it will be in the form of grants or loans.   As a member of the Pacific community, our foundation certainly looks forward to a global financial mechanism helping all Pacific islands’ climate mitigation and adaptation. However, we, together with many climate experts, also want to remind the world that the Nationally Determined Contributions, which outlines how a country will curb emissions, must be renewed every five years under Paris Agreement and the next round due is February 2025. So, COP29 is a crucial moment for countries to raise the bar and hold each other to account.   Nonprofit organization Climate Group also declared at its Climate Week NYC, taking place during the UN General Assembly in September, that the urgent and concrete action is needed to address the emission gap between what scientists say is needed to avoid disastrous climate change and what governments and business are delivered. They therefore called for governments, businesses, and the global climate community to focus on bolder annual to-do lists of climate action.   Their first Global To-Do List that governments and businesses can start taking action to drive results in the next twelve months consists of seven items including support workers to power down coal, unleash renewables, ban relining of coal-based steel furnaces, get serious on methane, stop ignoring energy efficiency, buy clean, and tax fossil fuels to fund the transition.   The UN chief Antonio Guterres actually also warned at the Pacific Islands Forum that the global 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – built around the 17 goals or SDGs – “is faltering.” Climate Group also reminded the world that we have Net Zero carbon emissions milestone to be accomplished by 2050 as well. The representatives of Pacific islands must make sure that COP29 focuses on what the whole world needs to do right now to get on track.   http://www.hsvg.org/hot_503561.html * Urge worldwide action to save the Pacific 2025-03-05 2026-03-05
Guahan Global Foundation P.O. Box 206, Hagatna, GU 96932, USA http://www.hsvg.org/hot_503561.html
Guahan Global Foundation P.O. Box 206, Hagatna, GU 96932, USA http://www.hsvg.org/hot_503561.html
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Home ﹥ News > News > * Vaccines alone won't suppress COVID surge

(10/14/2021)
Vaccines alone won't suppress COVID surge


 

The recent wave of COVID infections since August is not the first frightening surge in Guam. The island community experienced something similar last August and September, and actually the situation was even getting worse in the fourth quarter.

 

While vaccines have been rolled out and, as of Aug. 31 this year, 80.43% of Guam residents 12 years and older were fully vaccinated, our island reported a total of 47 COVID-related fatalities in September, which was surprisingly higher than the death number of 39 reported last September, when no vaccine was available at that time.

 

Obviously, vaccines alone aren’t suppressing the surge.

 

Guam is not the only place having a bad September. Singapore reported 28,901 new infections and 40 deaths in the month after the vaccination rate was, exactly like Guam, beyond 80%. Their COVID death number was zero last September. The epidemiological investigation and laboratory results concluded the changed situation was mainly caused by the delta variant of the coronavirus.

 

So, Guam and Singapore have been using the same effective vaccines, have reached the same high vaccination coverage, and then encountered the same more contagious variant. However, Guam, with less than 200 thousand residents, relatively reported much more COVID deaths (47) than Singapore, with a population of 5.7 million, did (40) this September. It is very likely that, under the same conditions, Guam had more severe cases than other places. Perhaps that consequently resulted in more fatal tragedies.

 

Of the 60 COVID patients in the hospital on Oct. 7, five were children, ranging in ages of 1 day old to 8 years old. However, the worldwide data show that children usually do not develop serious illness once they are infected with the coronavirus. More information, therefore, is needed. For example, if these little patients have any underlying health conditions, to help Guam figure out the factors.

 

For adults, Guam also needs to investigate if the high prevalence of obesity, diabetes, renal issues and heart disease might be the reason why Guam is, relatively, having more severe COVID cases than other places. If it is the case, the system has to pay a bit more attention to the control and prevention of those chronic diseases and consider it an important part of the long-term strategy in the post-COVID era.

 

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien-Loong emphasized in his Oct. 9 national address: “When the number of cases grows very large, even 2% of a very large number will translate to many patients needing hospital and ICU beds. Our healthcare system would rapidly be overwhelmed.”

 

Singapore therefore further expands health care capacity and strengthens case management so that they can “better identify COVID patients with mild symptoms to recover at home” and make sure the system can “properly care for those who fall seriously ill” as well as continue to attend to many non-COVID patients who also have urgent medical needs.

 

It seems Guam needs to do what Singapore is doing now. Guam also needs to learn from Palau’s effort to promote a healthy new normal after their vaccination coverage reached 80%. Thoroughly adjusting to the new normal might be the reason why Palau is still a paradise of extremely low COVID risk. Guam should take its inspiration from the neighboring island’s success.

 

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