Pandemics cannot definitively be labelled ‘over’

We definitely cannot say Covid is over because history tells us that the end of pandemics is rarely neat, uncomplicated, or even easy to date. None of the previous pandemics the world has had been clearly labelled over.

That means people will for a long time protect themselves through protective clothing, hygiene measures and vaccinations. The Spanish flu pandemic of 1918 was the deadliest in history. It infected about 500 million people worldwide and killed anywhere from 20 million to 50 million.

Much like today, citizens were subjected to social restrictions and ordered to wear masks. The pandemic abated, but identifying its precise end is almost impossible. In 1920, several newspapers reported the reappearance of influenza. About 5 000 cases were reported in Chicago in six days, and theatres were ordered to close.

Later that year, “drastic measures” were implemented to check the spread of flu in New York City after an emergency meeting of the transport authorities, theatre and cinema owners, and the representatives of department stores.

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At about the same time, 60 people died from influenza in Paris. Subsequent waves of the virus ripped through European and North American cities for years after the pandemic’s supposed to end. As late as 1925, and in the space of nine days, 201 people in Chicago died from what the newspapers called a “highly contagious influenza epidemic”.

It is hardly surprising, therefore, that there is little evidence in the historical record of parties to commemorate the end of the terrible virus. And up to this day we annually vaccinate to protect ourselves from influenza. Take polio, for example.

A vaccine was developed for the disease in the ’50s. It took almost three decades for polio to be brought under control in Britain and there were no celebratory holidays marking the last naturally acquired infection in 1984. In South Africa, we have not had a single polio case since 2016.

Covid booster vaccines

Today’s coronavirus pandemic is, of course, different to the march of influenza around the globe in 1918. The vaccine is a powerful tool and so many people’s hopes for Covid ending rely on it.

However, while vaccines have played a crucial role in past efforts to control infectious diseases, their ability to bring pandemics to a definitive end is limited.

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People are therefore advised to continue vaccinating and boosting to ensure they continue to be protected. Booster doses are the same vaccine in the same dose administered to people who have had a primary vaccination series and are administered to allow the body to boost its immunity to the Covid virus.

Data from other countries shows that a second booster will give you extra protection. A booster can prevent the possibility of hospitalisation or death from Covid.

The regulator, the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) approved the use of the Pfizer vaccine as a booster of the primary Pfizer vaccine two-dose series some time ago. This approval is for the vaccination of people six months after the administration of the second dose (or in the case of immunocompromised people who receive an additional primary dose, after their third dose).

SAHPRA has also approved the use of the Johnson and Johnson (J&J) vaccine for boosters of the single-dose primary J&J schedule at least two months after primary vaccination. Thus, from 24 December last year, the national vaccination programme provided J&J booster vaccinations to anyone who received their last dose at least two months prior.

All people will need a second booster and continuous boosters over time especially those that may be more at risk of serious illness from Covid because they have a weak immune system or are aged 65 or older.

This is because:

• the protection from previous doses may weaken with time.
• you may be at greater risk of severe illness.
• their immune system may not respond as strongly to vaccination.

Mask wearing

Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla has gazetted new regulations and from last Thursday South Africans were able to go mask free.