For reasons such as wanting to travel and taking advice "from the man above," a number of people took their second dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca covid19 vaccine on Monday at the Southern Academy for the Performing Arts (SAPA).
SAPA, San Fernando, one of the five locations for the second-dose rollout of this vaccine, saw people trickling in from 8 am and following covid regulations. A tent erected in the car park held a handful of people waiting their turn.
[caption id="attachment_894008" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Doodoo Kalloo, 76, sits and wait in the car park of SAPA for her son to arrive, after receiving her 2nd dose of AstraZeneca on Monday. Photo by Angelo Marcelle[/caption]
Doodoo Kalloo, 76, of Marabella, told Newsday she got a phone call last week from an official at the South-West Regional Health Authority who told her to visit the site for the second dose.
Kalloo hopes to visit her daughter, who lives in Germany.
"My daughter wants me to visit her. As soon as the border is opened, I will go. I normally sleep on my left hand and I got the injection on my right hand," Kalloo said. "I came here at 9 am, and by 10 am I got through. The people (staff) were really nice. They treated all of us good."
La Romaine resident Lutchmin Gookool, 72, said her decision to take the vaccine came from the "man above," meaning a supreme being.
"I get my directions from him. I spoke to him in confidence this morning and he told me to take it. The Lord comes in whatever form devotees need him," said Gookool, a Hindu. "The process was quick. I did not feel anything.
"I did not get any side effects when I took the first dose, and I am hoping for the same this time."
[caption id="attachment_894009" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Lutchmin Gookool 72, leaves SAPA, after receiving her 2nd dose of AstraZeneca on Monday. PHOTO:ANGELO M. MARCELLE 07-06-2021 - Angelo Marcelle[/caption]
An official who spoke on condition of anonymity said an estimated 600 people were expected to get their second dose on Monday, in blocks of an estimated 100 people per hour.
The administration of the second dose began on Monday and is expected to end on July 9. It is for people who got their first dose from April 6 to May 10. The Health Ministry website recommends that there should be eight-12 weeks between the two doses.
Regional health authorities are calling people to come in for their second dose. They must present an immunisation card and valid identification.
The other locations for the second dose rollout of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine are the National Racquet Centre in Tacarigua, Mayaro Sport Facility, the University of Trinidad and Tobago campus at Munroe Road, Chaguanas, and the Paddock at the Queen’s Park Savannah, Port of Spain.
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