Yesterday, the country received more doses of vaccines to add to its arsenal as it continues to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
The second tranche of 304,200 Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine doses donated by the United States government was handed over to local Ministry of Health officials.
The delivery of the vaccines came after the first batch of 305, 370 Pfizer doses arrived in August.
The vaccines from the US could not have come at a better time. As the country anticipates the inevitable arrival of the Omicron variant, it also stands amid its third wave of the pandemic, which thus far has proven to be more deadly and devastating than the two previous times when COVID-19 infections were rampant.
The highly transmissible Delta variant has become the dominant strain in Trinidad and Tobago and has not only spread rapidly throughout counties and communities but has also impacted the 1 to 18 age group in a major way.
Health officials have been vocal about the rising number of infections among children and teenagers and now the worrying number of deaths within this cohort as well.
Yesterday, the country recorded its seventh paediatric death—a teenage girl. Her demise came days after a newborn baby girl succumbed to COVID-19, becoming the country’s youngest victim of the disease.
Since then, however, there has been no outrage, no shock and no alarm to the continuing deaths—now at 2,361 overall — and to the continued refusal of some to take the necessary steps to give themselves an extra layer of protection against the virus.
This is quite disappointing.
One would have thought there would have been vociferous calls from all quarters around the country for maximum adherence to COVID-19 protocols and for those who have not yet done so to get vaccinated, given the deaths of so many innocent children.
But sadly, this has not happened.
Instead, some in the religious community, which is highly regarded for its counsel and guidance, have asked for personal choice to be respected, completely ignoring the havoc COVID-19 has been causing among citizens and one of the most vulnerable groups—children. This is the same community that Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh has highlighted for a high level of vaccine hesitancy. If we cannot expect good sense to prevail for these religious leaders, who can we turn to in this battle?
Thankfully, there have been people like Roman Catholic Archbishop Fr Jason Gordon who have called for discipline, good sense to prevail regarding vaccinations and personal responsibility to reduce the spread of COVID-19. This week, Archbishop Gordon himself was forced into isolation after coming into contact with a COVID-positive case. But his voice, those from the business community and a select few should not be the only ones propagating the urgent need for vaccinations.
With the arrival of more doses of the Pfizer vaccine, there should be a rush of advice and suggestions from all quarters to the Ministry of Health for ways they can be fully utilised.
While the Health Ministry will announce how they will be dispensed soon, it is hoped their advice to access them won’t fall on deaf ears.