Should the unvaccinated be allowed into TT?

Terrence Kalloo

Guest column

The delta variant is here! We have three confirmed cases and from information garnered from the newspapers, all three were from unvaccinated persons! I am no doctor and by no means an expert on covid related matters, but why would we allow unvaccinated persons to enter our country?

Is the PCR test 100 per cent effective? People are debating whether even the vaccines are effective and safe for that matter. As a colleague told me, if you are in the US, you could go to a drug store or a kiosk and self administer test with no doctor or nurse around. At the airport you have a wide range of choices of vaccinations and yet you are allowed to enter our borders unvaccinated.

Our country is working very hard to get our people vaccinated and yet we are allowing unvaccinated persons in the country with the full knowledge that the delta variant is wreaking havoc worldwide. Many of our citizens were begging to get permission to go abroad to get the vaccination and were denied and here we are encouraging the unvaccinated on our shores.

What’s happening around the world?

Make sure you are fully vaccinated before travelling to Canada. The US will eventually require almost all foreign visitors to be fully vaccinated, a White House official said recently.

In the Caribbean, Barbados has said that you must make sure you are fully vaccinated before you travel to that country and unvaccinated travellers should avoid nonessential travel.

Malta banned visitors from entering the country from July 14 unless they were fully vaccinated. Sri Lanka announced on August 13 that citizens would require vaccination cards to travel between provinces and in public spaces as of September 15. Meanwhile, Turkmenistan is making vaccination mandatory for all residents18 and older.

Passengers must present a covid19 vaccination card that indicates the record of the last dose at least 14 days prior to arrival in Panama.

How is the world treating with the unvaccinated?

A sharp upturn in infections due to the covid variant and a slowdown in vaccinations have pushed governments to make covid19 shots mandatory for health workers and other high risk groups.

Australia decided in late June to make vaccinations mandatory for high risk aged-care workers and employees in quarantine hospitals. In Tasmania vaccines will be made mandatory for aged care workers as of September 17. In Britian, it will be mandatory for care home workers to have vaccinations from October and English nightclubs and other venues with large crowds will require patrons to present proof of full vaccinations from the end of September.

Canada said on August 13 it will soon require all federal public servants and many other workers to be vaccinated. The vaccine mandate will also include air, train and cruise ship travellers. British Columbia is mandating covid vaccines for all staff working in long-term care homes and assisted living facilities effective August 12.

Lebanon is to limit entry to restaurants, cafes, pubs and beaches …yes beaches to people holding vaccine certificates or those who have taken anti body tests. Furthermore non-vaccinated employees of these establishments would be required to receive a PCR test every 72 hours.

In Russia, Moscow city authorities on June 16 ordered all workers with public facing roles to be vaccinated against covid19. Companies were given one month to ensure at least 60 per cent of staff had received their first doses or face fines or temporary closure.

In May, Saudi Arabia mandated that all public and private sector workers wishing to attend a workplace get vaccinated. Vaccination will also required to enter any Government, private or education establishment as of August 1.

The above measures may sound harsh, but the world is left with little alternative. The time to act is now. It is simple, if our country did not have the delta variant before, then there is even greater need to protect our borders. Now!