Omicron cases discovered in St Kitts and Nevis

St Kitts and Nevis: Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Hazel Laws confirmed the presence of the Omicron variant in St Kitts and Nevis. CMO provided information during the recent media briefing. 

The twin-island Federation is now witnessing the fourth wave of the deadliest COVID-19 virus. 

“The Omicron variant has been labelled a variant of concern by the World Health Organization (WHO) on December 22, 2021. The Federation sent off a small package of three (3) samples to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) for genomic sequencing; out of which, two returned positive for the Omicron variant of concern,” CMO noted.  

Furthermore, Dr Laws noted that the island currently contains the Omicron and the Lambda COVID-19 variants.

“The Lambda variant has been in circulation for the past seven months”. 

“Related to the 2918 cases of COVID-19, based on our analysis, sixty-eight (68) percent of these cases are unvaccinated, only twenty-six (26) percent are fully vaccinated, and the remainder, about seven (7) percent are partially vaccinated” CMO cited. 

“So, it remains a disease impacting the vulnerable and unvaccinated among us. I want to use this plug to reach out to those who are not yet vaccinated, empower yourself with the latest information and come on board and enjoy a level of protection against COVID-19 by consenting to the vaccine,” she added. 

CMO noted that the twin-island’s Federation is continuously encouraging the citizens to come forward and take their jabs of the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible. 

She emphasized that vaccination is the sole way to win over the deadliest COVID-19 virus. 

Vaccination in St Kitts and Nevis – 

Around 81.3% of the St Kitts and Nevis population has received its first dose of the vaccine, while 75.8% are now fully inoculated against the virus. 

Meanwhile, 5.3% have received their booster shots. At the same time, 16.3% of children received their first dose of the vaccine, and 14% of children are fully inoculated.