Deyalsingh Says Sorry

By Sue-Ann Wayow

HEALTH Minister Terrence Deyalsingh has apologised to the nation for the early morning chaos on Wednesday at the various vaccination centres in the country.

Deyalsingh on Wednesday at the Ministry of Health’s virtual press conference also said that effective from Thursday, an alphabetical system will be adopted for the mass vaccination roll-out.

He said, “We have noted the high number of persons turning out this morning for vaccinations in our centres. This overwhelming response has created many issues across the health centres across the country. In immediately reviewing what has happened this morning, the first thing I must do this morning is apologise to the nation for what has happened this morning. The Ministry of Health of which I head, we underestimated the demand for vaccines and we must sincerely apologise and I as minister sincerely apologise for this morning.”

And to mitigate the problem, persons over 60 years will be prioritised using an alphabetical system.

Deyalsingh said, “From tomorrow , we are only going to be  handling persons over 60 starting from 8.30am with surnames starting A to E, on Friday we will do F to J. We will be having a rolling alphabetical listing in groups of five letter to mitigate what happened today.”

Further details will be given as the days progress, he added.

The minister also thanked the population for the overwhelming response to the receipt of the vaccine.

Police intervened to curb crowds 

In a press release issued on Wednesday by the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS), the TTPS stated that Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith as soon as he  became aware of the crowd situation, he gave instructions that officers of the TTPS take charge of the situation in the various divisions, and if it became necessary, to shut down these sites for the day.

Police officers swung into action and dispersed the large crowds in various areas.

Griffith says he will be meeting with health officials today to ensure that a better system was put in place for the vaccine rollout in the future.

Reckless 

And the Opposition described the Government’s handling of Wednesday morning as “reckless” which allowed clear breach of health protocols that they put in place.

In a media release, the Opposition stated, “ The PNM clearly wanted to create a public spectacle as part of a cruel PR campaign. For this purpose, our elderly citizens were heartlessly exploited as props, made to stand in the hot sun for hours, only to be inevitably turned away. Furthermore, these persons are the most vulnerable to catching Covid-19 and at greatest risk from the disease. Yet the Government purposely gathered them in superspreader events across the length and breadth of the country.”

The Opposition said from June 23 the epidemiological charts will be monitored  with the hope that there was not another spike based on the large gathering and they made the call for police investigation.

“We must pin the tail on the donkey. The Government must not evade responsibility or, worse, spin this morning’s events into any sort of success,” the Opposition stated.

See related story:

A Recipe For Covid-19: Long Lines Across the Country as Walk-in Vaccination Begins