By Sue-Ann Wayow
NEARLY 1,700 people showed up for their first dose of the Sinopharm vaccine over the weekend during a drive geared towards migrants in Trinidad and Tobago.
The thrust towards vaccinating the migrants against the Covid-19 virus was a collaborated effort between SewaTT and the Living Water Community and was conducted at the mass vaccination site at the Divali Nagar compound in Chaguanas.
SewaTT is manning that site.
On Sunday and Monday, special arrangements were made to facilitate the migrants regardless of nationality and status.
On Tuesday, in a press release from Living Water Community, its co-ordinator Rochelle Nakhid said, “We did expect a higher turnout but bad weather and vaccine hesitancy within the community kept people away. We are still hopeful that as people see their friends and family members getting vaccinated, they will change their minds.”
The organisation will be going directly into the community to encourage more people to take the vaccine.
On Thursday and next Monday, interpreters in multiple languages will be at the Divali Nagar site and walk-ins were welcomed she said. A form of identification was the only document required.
Nakhid thanked the Living Water Community’s partners, including Sewa TT, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), First Citizens and Republic Bank and all the volunteers, for their support with the drive. She also thanked the Ministry of Health for making vaccines available to everyone, including the refugee and migrant community.
Nakhid said, “No one is safe until everyone is safe. We encourage everyone to get their vaccines. It’s the only way for the country and the economy to re-open.”
SewaTT’s site manager Revan Teelucksingh had told AZPNews.com that there was no discrimination when it came to vaccine distribution.
He said, “The Ministry of Health has made their policy very clear that every human being in Trinidad will get vaccinated and we are just facilitating that.
“They (the migrants) are a very important part of who we are as a country. Our culture is to help as much people as we can, it does not matter their circumstance or wherever they come from, they are people and our view of it is that we have a responsibility to vaccinate every human being.”
