By Sue-Ann Wayow
THERE is a high level of vaccine hesitancy in Tobago East and many Tobagonians are breaking quarantine.
Secretary of Tobago’s Division of Health, Wellness and Family Development Tracy Davidson-Celestine said those were the two main challenges faced by the Division.
Speaking at the Division’s virtual media conference on Thursday, Davidson-Celestine again appealed to persons to be vaccinated.
With the various vaccination centres including a drive-thru site and different types of vaccines being available, the population should be more encouraged to step forward to take the shot.
She said, “We have quite a lot of vaccines on offer. We have accessibility but the uptake is not one that we are comfortable with at this point. My call at this point in time is for persons to be vaccinated. I must put on record that we alone can’t do it. In order to achieve this target at vaccinating 45,000 adults, you also must be a part of the process.”
Referring to the one shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine, Davidson-Celestine said the Division was hoping it would be more readily acceptable “by the boys on the block, by the fishermen, by the farmers, by the people in deep Tobago East.”
She said, “One of the things that we are seeing is that there is a significant vaccine hesitancy in deep Tobago East and it may very well mean that persons are not getting the correct information with which to make the decision.”
From next week, the Division’s team will be visiting those areas with the intention of educating about the vaccine and regardless of fears and misinformation, one thing can be certain and that is vaccines saves lives she said.
A quarantine building
Given that people continued to breach quarantine, the Division has established a place for persons who had a problem staying at home.
Davidson-Celestine said, “All of the information coming to us suggests that people are still out there even though they are supposed to be on quarantine.”
A meeting was held with the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) discussing how persons can be kept at bay during the quarantine period.
“ If it is you have a challenge staying in your home, we could provide a place for you and that is what we will be doing,” she said.
A building has been identified for persons who have difficulty quarantining at home which will be manned by the public health agencies together with the police, the secretary said.
She added that while the overall Covid-19 managerial systems have improved, there may come a time when they will not have the required resources to go any further and that the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Scarborough General Hospital was full.
The division will be seeking to expand its ICU capacity Davidson-Celestine said.
