A general practitioner and emergency doctor in Newman, Australia, Dr Qalo Sukabula says if people are not vaccinated and they contract COVID-19, they can get Pneumonia in both lungs with blood poisoning.
Dr Sukabula highlighted this while speaking to Legend FM News from Australia.
He says people need to know that COVID-19 is real and in the worst-case scenarios, these are the things that can happen to a person when the virus overwhelms the immune system.
Dr Sukabula says when a person is in a severe condition, he or she will need a ventilator which is not a good sign at all.
He says the lungs will be inflamed and people can have pleuritic chest pain which is sudden and intense sharp, stabbing, or burning pain in the chest when inhaling and exhaling every breath.
Dr Sukabula stresses that this can be prevented if people get vaccinated.
Dr Sukabula says medical professionals in other counties have been forced to decide who is to be given a ventilator and who will not be given and this is what Fiji does not want.
He says these are some of the decisions that health professionals do not want to make.
Meanwhile Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says COVID safe behaviour is absolutely necessary to ensure we do not have continued escalation of cases and many more severe cases as Fiji has about 40 ventilators and close to 40 airvos to look after severe COVID patients.
A ventilator is a machine that provides mechanical ventilation by moving breathable air into and out of the lungs, to deliver breaths to a patient who is physically unable to breathe, or breathing insufficiently.
An airvo is a humidifier with integrated flow generator that delivers warmed and humidified respiratory gases to spontaneously breathing patients.
Doctor Fong says we have about 40 ventilators for now.
Doctor Fong says they may have access to other airvos however if severe cases escalate, they will have limited capacity.
Doctor Fong also says as new COVID cases continue to escalate in the Central Division and Nausori, people need to take action and ensure they take all the necessary COVID measures including vaccination as the Health Ministry would not want a worst case scenario where they pull back to the hospitals to look after the increasing severe cases.
He made it clear that with many more cases and more severe cases, things will get very difficult.
Doctor Fong says other countries who have faced this, have had to even pull back on the containment measures in the community.
Doctor Fong says all the severe cases are currently at CWM Hospital.
He says there are 60 positive cases at CWM.
Please follow all the COVID safety guidelines – wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds or sanitize, wear a mask, practice 2 metres physical distancing and avoid unnecessary movements.
The Ministry of Health also advises people to get vaccinated when the vaccination teams come to your area.
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