THE fight against COVID-19 received mixed news over the weekend.

The good news was breaking through the 100,000 total for the number of people who are now fully vaccinated.

That total now stands at 104,380, with around another 20,000 having received one dose of the vaccine.

The bad news was that we’re far from over the third wave of the pandemic yet - with another 20 deaths from the virus confirmed in the latest data.

The number of cases being reported has dropped - but so has the testing. As infectious disease expert Dr Nikkiah Forbes points out: “In those weeks where the numbers were declining, testing went down. So that’s why it’s important to look at other variables, deaths, hospitalisations, and the percent testing positive for the virus.

“The percent testing positive is still on an upward trend and still much higher than where we need it to be. We want it to be under five percent. When you have a high test positivity of upward of 20 percent that is informative and means there is still a lot of COVID-19 out there.”

Still a lot out there. Remember those words as you go about your business.

But that silver lining is the number who are vaccinated. Add to that the number who have recovered from COVID-19, a total of 19,172 according to the latest data, and we are moving slowly but steadily towards a point where herd immunity might be reached.

That number will be even higher, of course, because of the number of people who had COVID-19 but never experienced any symptoms - as many as 35 percent of those infected may never experience symptoms, according to a group of US doctors in August.

One of the regular promises by the PLP was that there would be free testing for COVID-19 - which, if implemented, will hopefully help to alert those with no symptoms and help limit the spread.

Of course, the number of reported cases will likely rise too - but as Dr Forbes says, we have to look at all the statistics, including that percentage rate of positive cases.

So where does that leave us?

It leaves us with a vaccination effort that must continue, and must keep pressing on.

The news last month that the US will require all adult foreign visitors to show full COVID-19 vaccination status has doubtless provided an incentive for some Bahamians to go and get their jabs - but there are plenty more staying right here at home who need to be convinced.

A look at the continuing increases in deaths ought to be convincing for others, or the reports of the hospital stretched beyond its capacity to help - but we’ve seen that for a while now, and still some won’t get the vaccine.

Businesses too are having discussions over how to deal with unvaccinated staff - as the debate last week over whether unvaccinated Atlantis workers would have to start paying for their weekly tests has shown.

There is a long way still to go in this battle - and many tough decisions along the way.

But for the moment, let us salute those who have helped us reach that 100,000 total. The nurses giving the jabs, those transporting the vaccines and those encouraging others to play their part and to get the jab. It’s no small landmark - you should all be proud.