The fear of succumbing to covid19 was on the minds of many as they got their vaccine booster on Monday at mass vaccination sites in south and central Trinidad.
When Newsday visited the UTT Chaguanas vaccination site around 9am, Chaguanas resident Dindial Rampersad said he was concerned about the country’s alarming death rate.
Rampersad, 57, told Newsday, “I came out because of the spike (in covid19 cases) and I noticed the increase in deaths.
“I had no concerns to get the booster and the only thing I was hesitant about was the weather.”
Rampersad has lost many friends to covid19 and explained that he would not like anyone to have the same experience.
So he is now calling on others to get their booster or get vaccinated if they aren’t.
He urged, “I’ve known quite a few people who got covid and died…as long as it have death and people are sick, you must feel a how about things.
“I would tell people to get vaccinated because with my experience I didn’t have any side effects or anything.”
During Newsday’s visit to the Chaguanas site, there was a steady flow of people but no more than 50 people at any given point in time.
While there a difference in the number of people at the Southern Academy for the Performing Arts (SAPA) mass vaccination site in San Fernando, the sentiment was the same. When Newsday visited SAPA shortly after 10am, there were long lines of people registering and waiting to get their booster.
[caption id="attachment_929489" align="alignnone" width="1024"] A few people braved the elements at the UTT Campus mass vaccination site on Monroe Road in Charlieville on Monday as the vaccination booster programme began. - Marvin Hamilton[/caption]
An enthusiastic Roy Brown told Newsday he wasn’t taking any chances with covid19 and getting the booster was the only option.
He lamented, “Long ago you use to see seven, nine (people dying from covid19) but now is 19, 20, 22, 24…so that’s why I came out to get my booster brother.
“What I does say is, you does try to talk to people, but if people have it in their head that they don’t want it (the vaccine), is only when they get sick they does get sense. You can only try to encourage people, but you can’t make them do it if they don’t want to.”
Kumarie Balroop, 29, and her husband Nishan Deonarine, 29, decided to get the booster not only to give themselves an extra layer of protection but also to protect their high-risk elderly parents.
Deonarine works in construction and interacts with many people daily, so the booster was a no-brainer for the young South Oropouche couple.
[caption id="attachment_929491" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Doing it for love, on Monday, as the vaccination booster program began, this couple Kumarie Balroop and Nishan Deonarine, returned together for their booster shot at the Southern Academy for the Performing Arts mass vaccination site in San Fernando. - Marvin Hamilton[/caption]
Balroop explained, “My husband wo
