By Sue-Ann Wayow
A HOTLINE has been created to deal with Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy in Trinidad and Tobago.
The Trinidad and Tobago Non Communicable Disease Alliance (TTNCDA) along with the Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO) is spearheading the initiative said Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh.
He made the announcement on Wednesday at the Ministry of Health virtual media conference.
It is hoped that the hotline would help to combat vaccine hesitancy. For the past two Mondays and Tuesdays, Deyalsingh reported a 50% decrease in the vaccination numbers.
In a release on Monday, TTNCDA said in almost every country in the world, vaccine hesitancy was driven by an abundance of misinformation and disinformation about the Covid vaccines from sources with little to no credibility.
TTNCDA stated, “According to recent data published by the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC), unvaccinated people have a 6.1 times greater risk of testing positive for covid19, and an 11.3 times greater risk of dying from the disease. This is of particular concern for the TTNCDA, as persons living with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, cancers, cardiovascular disease and respiratory conditions have been seen to be at greater risk to succumbing to the virus.”
While persons with NCDs had particular concerns about the vaccine, TTNCDA said the hotline gives persons the opportunity to speak one-on-one with a physician to alleviate concerns.
The project has two components, the hotline, and a social media campaign consisting of educational materials, with an emphasis on the impact of Covid-19 on people living with NCDs.
Deyalsingh commended TTNDCA chair Dr Karen Sealey and director Andrew Dhanoo for the initiative.
The new hotline would be managed by volunteer doctors from 1pm to 7pm.
Dhanoo told AZPNews.com that 25 doctors have volunteered their time and there were 20 volunteer operators presently.
He said, “We have a lot of help and we have had a good bit of calls thus far. We need to get the information to more people so they can call us. So it’s just to get the number to persons now.”
About the hotline itself, Dhanoo said, “Its virtual call centre. Everyone has the PBX application installed on their phones, so we have volunteers from all across the country working at the same time.”
The hotline number to call is 607-VAXX/607-8299.
