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00:13Caused by the influenza virus, the flu season generally runs from October to May.
00:19The flu is contracted via droplets from persons who carry the virus from up to 6 feet away
00:25when they cough, sneeze or talk.
00:27And every year around this time, a lot of people in Trinidad and Tobago are infected
00:33with the flu.
00:34Speaking on TV6's Morning Edition, Dr. Nikul Ramlachan, Genetic Consultant, urged the public
00:40to get vaccinated.
00:41There is a vaccine schedule that we're supposed to follow, yellow fever, if it is you want
00:46to travel to other countries, we need to take January cervical when cancer awareness month
00:51caused by HPV.
00:53We have a very effective HPV vaccine, several of them which are available here in Trinidad.
00:58I urge people to be vaccinated against all of the preventable diseases, in particular
01:04flu, which is available right now.
01:07The flu vaccine is quite effective, again, from what we've seen so far, again, we have
01:12to do that two years in advance, so sometimes there's a hit or miss.
01:16But this one is about, I think it's about 30 to 40% effective, which is quite good for
01:20flu.
01:21So, it gives you a fighting chance against these viruses.
01:23She said, there is a lot of fake news going around, and people need to be careful with
01:29the information they get.
01:30And a lot of that is because of our, I blame us, because we pause, right, you know, usually
01:36before we put out any kind of news, or we come on TV, or we go on media, we pause because
01:41we want to get the information to make sure we're seeing it correctly.
01:45Whereas the misinformation people and people in the media that are not necessarily professionals,
01:52but like the armchair, you know, scientists, as we call them, and the couch, the couch
01:57university professors, they will get their word out without any kind of, you know, desensitization
02:05or any kind of backing of the information or, and it's always misleading.
02:10And what about the new virus that's spreading in China?
02:13In a media statement, the Ministry of Health said they have taken note of the rise in respiratory
02:20viruses in China.
02:22The ministry said that they consulted the Pan American Health Organization, which advised
02:28that the scale and intensity of the illnesses are actually less than the last year comparable
02:35period.
02:36The ministry is seeking to assure that it's actively monitoring the situation, and a genetic
02:42consultant is advising that a person cannot follow the same public health measures they
02:48followed for COVID or the regular flu, as both COVID and the influenza virus have different
02:54symptoms from the new viruses circulating in China.
02:59Basic hygiene, wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands, use bleach.
03:03A lot of these viruses, for example, norovirus is enveloped.
03:08What does that mean?
03:09It means that there's an extra coat that you can't get through.
03:13So normal disinfectants don't work, hand sanitizer don't work.
03:17For tonight's Health Watch, I'm Kandi Hill.
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