UWI St Augustine starts mass vaccination

THE UWI's St Augustine campus started its mass vaccination drive for students and campus staff members on Monday.

The drive began after the Ministry of Health recently allocated vaccines to the campus.

The University Inn and Conference Centre is being used as the campus’ vaccination centre.

Last week, staff and students were invited to book appointments.

Prof Indar Ramnarine, deputy campus principal, said, “I think we can finally begin to see some light at the end of this tunnel with the vaccination drives that are being conducted across Trinidad and Tobago, certainly with our own drive at the St Augustine campus..

“UWI has joined the ranks of other professional organisations and civil society groups to launch mass vaccination drives alongside the national vaccination drive, all with the same aim: getting our citizens vaccinated.”

In June, according to a UWI press release, the St Augustine campus began offering vaccines to medical students so they could continue their training and join frontline medical staff.

Staff and students were notified that they could now book appointments for members of their family over 18. It is expected that the campus will vaccinate around 6,000 people by the end of this week.

“I want to say thank you to the members of our community who have already chosen to get vaccinated. Globally over three billion doses of the covid19 vaccine have been administered and the UWI St Augustine is committed to doing our part to help get TT to a point of safety and comfort,” Ramnarine said.

He urged all students and staff to take the vaccine.

“When you choose to get vaccinated you are not only protecting yourself but also your families, neighbours, friends and our national community.

"Many questions have been voiced about the safety and effectiveness of the vaccines but the shots that are being administered have been found to be effective in reducing the spread of the disease, but more importantly, they are very effective at preventing serious illness and hospitalisation.”