Minister – Vaccines can help T&T avoid another COVID milestone

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As he expressed condolences to the families of the 1,000 people who have succumbed to the COVID-19 virus, Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh says the country may now have the means to prevent further deaths.

He was speaking to the media at the North Central Regional Health Authority’s (NCRHA) drive-through vaccination site at the Frankie Boodram Wallerfield International Racetrack in Wallerfield yesterday.

When he arrived, Deyalsingh spent some time greeting those waiting for their vaccines and those who had already gotten the jab, joking and expressing good wishes.

But in an interview, he became sombre, saying he could not speak without addressing the 1,000 lives lost to COVID-19.

“Our deepest, heartfelt condolences to those families. What I would like to tell the population as we mourn the loss of 1,000 individuals, we now have ammunition to significantly reduce deaths and that ammunition is a vaccine,” Deyalsingh said.

He said if enough people are vaccinated, the number of deaths will be significantly reduced.

“That is what the vaccine does- it prevents serious illness, it prevents hospitalisation and it prevents deaths. In mourning those 1,000 deaths, we should tell the population that we could avoid another terrible milestone if we believe the science that says that vaccinations saves lives,” the Minister said.

He said the drive-through site was set up to give the population more options to get vaccinated and to assist those with mobility issues.

“Some may prefer this because they don’t have to come out. So an elderly person does not have to come out and walk with a crutch or a cane so it’s very amendable to that type of person. It gives you another option to get vaccinated, we have reach, convenience and that is the main thing we are trying to do right now.”

Deyalsingh said although the country’s experience with the pandemic has been “long and hard”, Trinidad and Tobago seems to be moving closer to the end of that journey.

“We can start to see some significant light at the end of the tunnel and that is vaccines, so we could shorten that journey and reach a place by the end of September where we can vaccinate another 400,000 persons fully.”

NCRHA CEO Davlin Thomas said during the first hour of the drive-through operation, over 200 people had received their vaccine.

He said those interested in getting vaccinated at the site can pre-register by using a link provided on the NCRHA’s Facebook page.

Thomas said there were several checkpoints before the vaccination tents, where registration and other information were verified. After getting the jab, people were directed to two more tents where they were instructed to wait until the observation period was completed.

Thomas said the process was going smoothly and he encouraged others to book appointments to get their vaccines.

“One of the things we are advocating is that it’s a road trip, take the road trip to Wallerfield, drive past the flora and the fauna on this side of the country, get to here, turn on your air conditioning and your music in your car and we will take care of you from there,” Thomas said.

He said the NCRHA was hoping to vaccinate 2,500 people daily at the site.