THA Secretary of Health, Wellness and Family Development Tracy Davidson-Celestine has described as “worrying” the high level of hesitancy in Tobago, despite the division’s best efforts to achieve herd immunity of 45,000 vaccinations.
The island has a population of 60,000.
As of Saturday, Tobago recorded yet another death, bringing the island’s covid19 death toll to 56. The island now has 519 active cases.
The division said since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, a total of 12,094 Tobagonians have been tested for the virus. Of that number, 1,988 tested positive.
It said 17, 231 people have received the first dose of either the Sinopharm or AstraZeneca vaccine and 12,001 have already had their second dose.
The figure for those who have had their second dose represents just over a quarter of the division’s target to achieve herd immunity.
Davidson-Celestine noted parents also appear to have serious concerns about having their children vaccinated.
The division began its rollout of the Pfizer vaccine for children aged 12-18 on Thursday at the Bishop’s High School and the Speyside High School as part of the national plan to vaccinate students ahead of the resumption of physical classes in the new school term in September. A total of 352 students got their jabs
On Friday, vaccinations were also administered to students at Signal Hill Secondary School and the Pentecostal Light and Life Foundation. The division reported 176 students received the vaccine at Signal Hill Secondary while only 53 got their jab at Pentecostal Light and Life Foundation.
Davidson-Celestine told Sunday Newsday she is not satisfied with the response thus far.
“After two days, we have been able to vaccinate approximately 600 school-aged persons 12-18. This is only ten per cent of our estimated numbers,” she said.
Davidson-Celestine observed there has been a resurgence of covid19 cases in various parts of the world, with more children being affected, “and we don’t know what future strains will bring.
“It is a worrying trend given that this is the only proven method to minimise serious challenges to our health and that of our families and friends. The hesitancy that we are experiencing is going to affect the way we function.”
She said the division intends to embark on a community-driven approach to accelerate the pace of vaccinations.
“There is quite a lot of misinformation in the public domain about the vaccines, which is a cause for concern. In my walks and discussions with persons, all kinds of concerns have been expressed. In small and intimate communities like ours these concerns, when communicated and internalised, can become a challenge.”
Davidson-Celestine added, “Given this, we have to have an approach that focuses on ensuring that the correct messages are communicated. We have completed the first phase, which was to ensure that information was provided on the airwaves. The second aspect to this is now a community education focus drive, from street to street and house to house.”
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