Anti-MERS trial vaccine raises hopes

Hwe son is a nurse assigned to the emergency room of a leading medical facility in Saudi Arabia. On May 5, he was diagnosed positive for MERS-CoV (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome — Coronavirus and was quarantined together with his wife, who had shown the same symptoms.
The concerned mother said that she was worried about other Filipino nurses who, like her son, may also be exposed to the coronavirus because of the nature of their work. The mother, who wishes to remain anonymous, is urging the Philippine government to send a team of its own medical experts to discuss with their Saudi counterparts a joint campaign against MERS particularly among Filipino health workers, quite a good number of whom are on rotational duty in Saudi hospitals.
Though anonymous and living in faraway Mindanao, this mother is entitled like everyone else, to know more about how the campaign against MERS is progressing. Indeed, many of the foreign nurses and medical staff that currently work in hospitals and clinics across the Middle East never thought a strange disease such as MERS-CoV would be part of the hazards of their job. But as health professionals, these Filipino staff, as well as other nationals, are duty-bound to serve, and to put on a brave face despite the increasing number of such coronavirus cases.
It would not hurt, however, to have infection control protocols written in the languages most familiar to foreign workers assigned to government medical facilities in Saudi Arabia. A “Caring for Carers” program can also be designed to make sure that the emotional and physical needs (perhaps, even financial?) of those assigned to MERS patients are addressed — regardless of nationality. Perhaps it is also time for health experts in the Gulf region to spearhead a regional conference on MERS to show a united front against this dreaded disease.
The easiest thing would have a daily or weekly tally of how many have contracted the disease and sadly, even how many have died from it.
Numbers are hard facts but certainly, such numbers also include patients who have recovered from MERS. Perhaps, it is also apt that the public gets to read and hear about them, too.
The Saudi government is doing its best given the circumstances to stem the growing number of coronavirus cases, in close coordination with the World Health Organization (WHO). While there are certain initiatives and trends that its health authorities may not be at liberty to share with the public, I am sure that nothing impedes them from reaching out to other countries where MERS cases have been discovered.
While this may already be happening, it is something that the world deserves to know about. There is comfort to be found in a systematic, cross-border set of health protocols that would guarantee a more effective control and management of this disease.
Because after all, these patients and all high-risk potential patients have mothers, fathers, siblings, and friends — extended families that light up the sky with prayers for recovery and protection.
They deserve to be assured that everything possible is indeed being done, and that the world is acting as one against the strangest virus said to come from camels. A daily tally report on MERS patients and fatalities will not suffice, sweeping national and international measures must now be firmly in place, with the international community adequately informed and motivated to help fight this virus.
While there is no cause to panic, there certainly is no reason to be complacent either. The balance should always be tipped in favor of public health and safety.