There was a good turnout of people on Thursday morning at the Southern Academy for the Performing Arts (SAPA) mass vaccination site.

An official at SAPA said most people came for their second dose of the Sinopharm covid19 vaccine.

Given that some people turned up earlier than expected for their second jabs, they were asked to queue, which led to some long lines.

[caption id="attachment_907009" align="alignnone" width="1024"] People waiting in line for the second dose of the Sinopharm covid19 vaccine at SAPA, San Fernando - Photo by Lincoln Holder[/caption]

The official told Newsday, “People prefer to visit the site earlier (than their scheduled appointment time) because they think coming earlier will help them get through faster.”

The official said no challenges were reported on Thursday morning at the site.

At the Ato Boldon Stadium mass vaccination site, scenes similar to SAPA played out. But instead of the queues of people seen at SAPA, there were queues of cars at the stadium.

The site’s lead co-ordinator, Garvin Heerah, said most of the people visiting the drive-through site came for their second dose of Sinopharm.

He said the number of people visiting the site has also increased, given that the site is willing to give second jabs to people who got their first elsewhere.

[caption id="attachment_907012" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Cars line up as security personnel direct the drivers to the various tents to be screened and then vaccinated at the Proman vaccine site at the Ato Boldon Stadium - Photo by Lincoln Holder[/caption]

At both SAPA and the stadium, just a handful of people were coming to get their first dose of AstraZeneca.

When Newsday visited the Marabella and Pleasantville Health Centres, by contrast, there was just a handful of people coming to get their second and first doses of Sinopharm.

One Marabella man who was waiting to get his second jab urged people to get vaccinated if they wanted a fighting chance of survival in the event that they contracted covid19.

With the Ministry of Health confirming the presence of two delta variant cases in Trinidad and Tobago, the man said that news should encourage unvaccinated people to get vaccinated.