Senator urges better communication to convince anti-vaxxers

Independent senator Maria Dillon-Remy believes proper engagement with the people is needed to address the problem of vaccine hesitancy in the country.

She said so on Friday at the launch of the THA Division of Health, Wellness and Family Development’s east Tobago covid19 vaccination drive-through at the Roxborough Administrative Complex. It ends today.

The division is hoping to vaccinate 35,000 Tobagonians to achieve herd immunity on the island.

But as of Friday, only 10,846 people had received their second dose of either the AstraZeneca or Sinopharm vaccine. The division said 15,661 people have had their first dose. Tobago has 52 covid19-related deaths and 598 active cases.

A member of the TT Medical Association, Dillon-Remy said the organisation is supporting vaccination drives throughout the country. She said as a paediatrician she has been administering vaccines to children over the years.

“I have seen children die from not having vaccination,” she told reporters.

“Over the years, we have fought for vaccinations and as a result we are not seeing things like measles and polio and mumps any more. So, I am encouraging all of our people in Tobago to get vaccinated.

“It is not just from a medical point of view but I am saying also from a personal point of view and from the national point of view.”

On the issue of vaccine hesitancy, Dillon-Remy some people simply need to have some questions answered.

She told reporters two volunteers at the Roxborough drive-through did not want to take the vaccine. But Dillon-Remy said she was able to address their concerns and convince them.

“Their questions were answered and they came and were vaccinated. So, at least two persons who would not have been vaccinated, who would have left here today without being vaccinated, are now vaccinated.

“So, we need to engage on a one on one with our population. It has nothing to do with politics or all of these conspiracy theories. This has to do with our life as a nation.”

THA Secretary of Health, Wellness and Family Development Tracy Davidson-Celestine urged parents to allow their children, aged 12 and over, to take the Pfizer vaccine.

“Children have been home cooped up in their houses for the last year. They are very agitated because they want to socialise. They want to go back to school and the only way that is possible is for them to be vaccinated,” she said.

She said the Pfizer vaccines have been tested on millions of people across the US “and we have not yet received any significant challenges from taking the Pfizer vaccines.

“The point I am making, all of these vaccines are safe for use by humankind. So, my encouragement is for parents to sign for those vaccines so that they could afford a level of freedom for their children who have been locked up at home for the last year and counting.”

Some 305, 370 doses of the Pfizer vaccine arrived in TT on Thursday as part of a donation from the US.

Education Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly said final arrangements are being made for venues to vaccinate students.