ANYONE who is diabetic should get vaccinated as soon as he is able to.
This is according to General Manager Primary Care at the North Central Regional Health Authority (NCRHA) Dr Abdul Hamid.
On Monday, during the Ministry of Health’s virtual press conference, the ministry launched a new series – the Diabetic Vaccine Guide.
Dr Hamid said that people who have diabetes should be vaccinated as soon as they are able to due to the severity of Covid-19 on non-vaccinated diabetic individuals as well as its ability to cause severe manifestations of diabetes.
Giving examples from China and the United States, Dr Hamid said studies have shown that the case fatality rate among Covid-19 patients with diabetes was 5% higher in China and in the US the mortality rate was 14.8% among persons with diabetes and 28.8% in patients with diabetes or uncontrolled hyperglycaemia compared to 6.2% without either.
“Patients with type 2 diabetes are more likely to have serious complications, more intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, longer length of stay, and death from Covid-19,” he said.
Dr Hamid noted that persons with high blood sugar and obesity were also part of the risk factor for infection in general as individuals with an elevated body mass index (BMI) were associated with increased Covid-19 mortality.
As Trinidad and Tobago diabetics have been prioritised for receiving the Covid-19 vaccines, Dr Hamid encouraged those affected to get the ones locally available as they were proven to be safe and effective in protecting people against the virus.
