President: I took no vaccine in US – just a PCR test

PRESIDENT Paula-Mae Weekes sought to douse a social media firestorm on Wednesday as she clarified that she had not taken any covid19 vaccine in the US, but only in Trinidad and Tobago.

At a news briefing at President's House, St Ann's, just after landing at Piarco Airport on her return from the US, she said wrong information had been conveyed in an erroneous tweet by a US hospital, which has since been corrected.

Weekes said she was still casually dressed – she was sporting a bright red dress – because she had come straight from airport to address the briefing.

She told the media, "I'm here in person to set the record straight and to say right off from the beginning, the tweet was incorrect insofar as it said that I went to the hospital for the purpose of being vaccinated.

"On Monday this week, the twenty-third, the hospital was very kind to accommodate me and two other members of the Office of President staff who travelled with me to have our PCR tests done so that we could comply with the rules and regulations of re-entry into the country."

The current rules for entering TT say returning nationals must produce a negative PCR covid19 test done within 72 hours of their return to the country.

Weekes said she had had two covid19vaccinations: "The first, it was April 6, and the second on June 7, at the Diego Martin Health Facility and at the Paddock of the Queen's Park Savannah respectively."

Weekes said she has had no other vaccine, booster or otherwise, nor has any other vaccine been suggested to her to take.

"So please let me make it clear: I had no vaccination in New York and what I did was the PCR test."

Weekes said the hospital had withdrawn the tweet when it had been drawn to their attention.

Cheryl Hall, head of the Caribbean Women's Health Association, joined the news briefing remotely from the New York Consul General's office to support the President, saying she had gone to the hospital with Weekes, who had gone there to have a test: "I can attest to what she just said."

At about 2 pm on Wednesday, a fresh tweet by the hospital endorsed Weekes' statement.

It said, "On August 24 we in error stated that the President of Trinidad and Tobago, Paula-Mae Weekes received a #covid19 vaccine. She in fact received a covid19 test where our hospital leadership team greeted President Weekes and company. We were honoured to have her visit @KingsCountyHosp."