Retention at home by wearing face masks without being administered with the vaccine against Covid-19 would be a pointless measure against the pandemic, said Specialist Dr. Anthony Mendis of the Intensive Care Unit of the National Hospital of Colombo, speaking to a briefing held at the Health Promotion Bureau today (14).
This is mainly due to the omicron variant of Covid being already prevalent throughout the country, he revealed, urging the public that the vaccination, therefore, would be essential for protection.
Despite an awareness of this gravity, a significant number of people who have not received any dose of the vaccine are admitted to the ICUs due to being infected with the virus, he went on, adding that those who collect one or two doses of the vaccine are recovering and leaving the hospital.
Despite the use of face masks being effective against earlier variants of the virus, the omicron variant cannot be avoided by the mere use of face masks and therefore, people should be fully vaccinated as soon as possible, Dr. Mendis added.
MIAP