PHOTO: Dr. Dougbeh Chris Nyan, M.D., Infectious Disease Scientist and Social Activist
By Jana-Astrid Schäfer
New Jersey, USA – At the Rowan College lecture series in New Jersey recently, infectious disease expert, Dr. Dougbeh Chris Nyan of Shufflex Biomed has said that, “COVID-19 vaccination will likely be given every 6 months or yearly just like the Flu vaccination.”
He reiterated the statement in response to questions on Saclepea’s Truth FM 96.9 in Liberia last Friday.
Dr. Nyan also noted that, “the vaccine would likely be given every 6 or 8 months depending on health status of individuals; this will be determined by various medical jurisdictions in individual countries” as numerous studies have shown a decline in immunity over 6 months or more in vaccinated individuals.
At the Rowan College presentation, Dr. Nyan who spoke on the topic, “COVID-19 Pandemic: Origin, Global Health Response and Geopolitical Implications” also cautioned against “the premature removal of the COVID-19 Mask Mandate and other pandemic regulations in the US and around the world,” stressing that, “COVID-19 is not over yet.”
Asia and Europe have seen a rise in COVID-19 cases in the last several weeks. Mainland China and Honk Kong, for example, have seen a surge in cases for which the country has amended its pandemic treatment protocol to include the use of Pfizer’s antiviral pills for emergency treatment. The United States also recently recorded about a dozen cases of the COVID-19 identified as the Omicron BA.2 sub-variant.
Further into his presentation, Dr. Nyan said that, “news about the Ukraine-Russian war has overshadowed the pandemic for which we don’t hear much about the COVID-19 pandemic now, but people should not let their guard down; wear your mask, wash and sanitize your hands, and take the COVID-19 vaccines and booster if available to protect yourselves and halt the transmission of the virus.”
He noted that the war has created a humanitarian crisis amidst the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, with sub-variant Omicron BA.2 spreading fast in Europe.
Regarding vaccine availability and global distribution, Dr. Nyan said that, “COVID-19 vaccine policy-decisions made by western rich countries have affected poorer countries as the richer countries were hoarding vaccines, while poor countries in Africa, Asia, South America and the Caribbean are experiencing shortage of vaccines to immunize their populations.”
“For example, about 65 percent of the US population of about 328 million people have been fully vaccinated, while only about 15 percent of the approximately 1.3 billion people in Africa is vaccinated; this disparity [inequity] alone calls for global public health concern,” Dr. Nyan alerted.
He added that, “such geopolitical arrangements have to be done on an equitable basis as Africa and Asia which suffered colonialism and exploitation of its human and mineral resources still continue to be neglected in terms of healthcare and the economy as well.”
On the flip side, Dr. Nyan, the infectious disease scientist and social advocate, pointed out that, “rich countries cannot be entirely blamed for hoarding vaccines to address their populations first, because they [rich countries] invested billions of dollars in vaccine and testing-kits production, while most poorer countries misallocated and misappropriated money sourced from the IMF [and World Bank] to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
He emphasized that these “so-called poor countries need to stop corruption and support their home-grown scientists and technologies for the benefit of their people.”
Dr. Nyan has provided extensive COVID-19 pandemic awareness to the populations and expert advised on public health regulatory measures to African countries including Liberia. During the Ebola outbreak in 2014, Dr. Nyan testified before the US Congress and advocated for the establishment of the African Centers for Disease Control. He is the inventor of the US patented rapid multiplex diagnostic test for infectious diseases including the Coronaviruses, Ebola, HIV, and Zika. Dr. Nyan is the 2017 winner of the prestigious African Innovation Award Special Prize for Social Impact.