By Sue-Ann Wayow
THE pundit who requested vaccines from Canada for Trinidad and Tobago has officially made another request for the Pfizer vaccine from the Canadian government.
Pundit Vijay Persad Seetahal delivered thank you letters to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Minister of Public Services and Procurement Canada Anita Anand and Minister of International Development Global Affairs Canada Karina Gould.
In the letters dated August 10, he also informed the Canadian state officials that the 82,000 plus vaccines were distributed across centres in T&T.
There is currently an increased interest in persons obtaining the AstraZeneca vaccines that is being rolled out across the mass vaccination sites in T&T.
Persad Seetahal wrote, “As a Trinidadian, I have noted the prompt action by the Canadian government to render assistance to those in need and I will continue to have faith for our children and seniors.”
He said that he was aware of the vaccine choices available to Canadians including the top three, AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Moderna also noting that the Pfizer was the only World Health Organization (WHO) approved vaccine for children ages 12 and over.
The letter stated, “I, on behalf of the Shri Krishna Dharma Sabha (SKDS) of Brampton, Ontario, humbly besiege you to give some consideration to the donation of the Pfizer-BioNTec and the Moderna vaccines to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. With talk about students resuming school, I cannot help but think about how privileged our children are, being provided with the best opportunity to facilitate the safe resumption of school. These children of T&T may not even receive their vaccines in time, thus promoting fear in the minds of parents as well as a greater spread of the virus. The elderly is also very susceptible to severe complications due to the virus.”
Persad Seetahal giving Ministry of Health’s Covid-19 figures as of August 9, he said for a nation of approximately 1.4 million people, those figures were large and the onset of the Delta variant meant possibly more cases to already overwhelmed health care facilities.
“Having access to highly acclaimed vaccines, citizens will be able to confidently and willingly be vaccinated, knowing that they are being inoculated with vaccines of top quality. Children and the elderly are more vulnerable. Most of the deaths in Trinidad and Tobago are that of older, unvaccinated patients with existing comorbidities,” he wrote.
And Persad Seetahal said, “It is with this concern and love of the people that I respectfully make this simple request to you. I pray that you do give some consideration to my appeal and I patiently anticipate your response.”
Last week, the AstraZeneca vaccines arrived at the Piarco International Airport and on Saturday, Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh announced how they were going to be distributed.
See related stories below:
Pundit Will Now Ask Canada To Give T&T Moderna, Pfizer Vaccines
