Tobago and its vaccine hesitancy

Signal Hill Secondary student Darion James gets the Pfizer vaccine. Photo by David Reid - David Reid
Signal Hill Secondary student Darion James gets the Pfizer vaccine. Photo by David Reid - David Reid

THE EDITOR: Tobago and the hesitancy regarding that small jab that will save severe complications from covid19 may involve bursting the alleged bubble of superiority regarding the Tobago version of lives and livelihood.

Before we progress to debating the Elections and Boundaries Commission’s (EBC) hard work on fleshing out the 15 districts needed to break the political six-six electoral stalemate of January, do we need to take pause? Are Tobagonians so secure in their version of life that they cannot see beyond their own noses? Do they believe Tobago capable of running its own tiny world but they cannot see the danger to life from a deadly viral infection?

Just how big is the bubble of unreality that encompasses Tobago? Talk of reopening all the things that make Tobago attractive to global tourism must come first. Without an acceptable version of tourism to attract foreign investors, where is Tobago headed? Also, is further discussion about full autonomy for the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) more important than living?

If, and I hope it will not happen, a large number of Tobagonians succumb to covid19 and the voracious delta variant, there will be nothing to discuss. Too many citizens, many of them children, will be lying in graves.

At last count, 77 Tobagonians have died from covid19. There are other suffering patients lying in the ICU.

That mental political bubble could prove far more destructive than any covid19 variant.

LYNETTE JOSEPH

Diego Martin

Comments

"Tobago and its vaccine hesitancy"

More in this section