‘Unvaccinated a Danger to the Vaccinated’

By Sue-Ann Wayow

HEALTH Minister Terrence Deyalsingh is begging the population to get vaccinated against Covid-19 as the hospitals and all healthcare workers are being overwhelmed with resources stretched.

Deyalsingh said the unvaccinated are going to soon prove to be a problem to the vaccinated persons needing medical attention and it will become a “pandemic of non-communicable diseases” because such patients may not be able to get their care.

He said, “The unvaccinated are posing a clear danger now to the vaccinated.”

Speaking at the Ministry of Health’s virtual media conference on Saturday, Deyalsingh said while the second-dose vaccination numbers were over 600,00, the number of persons accepting a first dose of a two-dose regime was not favourable.

Principal Medical Officer Dr Maryam Abdool-Richards also stressed that of the number of persons needing immediate attention at the hospitals for Covid-19, none were fully vaccinated and for the past two weeks, 90% of persons in Intensive Care Unit ICU were not fully vaccinated.

Deyalsingh said life and death situations at the hospitals were not something healthcare professionals were looking forward to.

Referring to the triaging of patients, he said, “They make these decisions and they are anguished and they are pained. They are not happy with making these decisions.”

The minister said resources are being stretched especially human resources and people needing medical attention not Covid-19 related are going to have to suffer the consequences.

He said, “Consider being vaccinated as part of your civic duty.”

Getting information from unreliable sources 

Also speaking for the first time at the conference was Trinidad and Tobago Non-Communicable Disease Alliance (TTNCDA) director Andrew Dhanoo. 

A vaccine hesitancy hotline launched this week already had many calls with people promising to get their Covid-19 vaccine within two weeks, he said

The TTNCDA and the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) were spearheading the initiative along with volunteer doctors and operators.

Dhanoo said at least 50% of the callers had at least one NCD, 70% were female and 75% were unvaccinated.

He said only 25% received vaccine information from credible sources and not mainly through social media.

Dhanoo added that 95% listened to the doctor’s information and 50% agreed to get to a Covid-19 vaccine within a two-week period.

He said, “We want persons to trust the persons who are in charge of health, the persons are trained to take care of you.”

Dhanoo added that if someone gets sick, that person would not go to the individual who sending information that was not credible but to a doctor.

He said, “We are seeing around the world that the most trusted person to get your vaccination information from or any medical information from is your doctor. We are advising members of the public to reach out to your doctor if you have any questions about the vaccine, that is your primary source, your doctor. That is the person that you go to when you are feeling sick so that is the person you should seek medical advice from.”

Vaccine efficacy 

Dhanoo said for diabetes alone, 15% of the population had that NCD equivalent to 200,000 people or more.

“A huge proportion of persons in Trinidad and Tobago are affected by at least one NCD,” he said.

He added that persons with NCDs although they may have a Covid-19 vaccine may be more susceptible to the virus when asked about the efficacy for persons with NCDs.

“The vaccine does not stop you from getting Covid-19. The vaccine will stop you from getting sick, ending up in the hospital and succumbing to Covid-19. The vaccine is your best chance of survival,” Dhanoo said.