THE National Assembly recommenced, on Thursday, with oral and written statements and reports, a steamy asking and answering of questions related to sports, and a lively debate on motions related to the business of the opposition.

But one of the presentations which was no doubt interesting, well researched and realistic was delivered by Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony, who was, at the time, updating parliamentarians, and the nation on the efforts to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic in Guyana.

He said that over three million people worldwide have died as at June 9, 2021. This number continues to grow despite there being a vaccine that’s available to populations that ‘want it’.
Dr Anthony related there are 18,088 cases recorded in Guyana with a total of 419 deaths before expressing the government’s condolences to the families of those who have suffered a loss by the dreaded pandemic. But, he said, since the start of pandemic the nurses and doctors have been working beyond the call of duty to get the pandemic under control. He called them “selfless” and thanked them for their efforts.

Dr Anthony warned that Guyana will not win its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic unless we get immunised now. He said that vaccines work and are successful against the COVID-19 virus as he listed the successes in places like the UK and US while telling Parliament that 297,0490 doses of the vaccines have been administered and a total of 81,729 persons are fully vaccinated.
He then appealed for persons to come forward and get vaccinated now before it’s too late.

Dr Anthony also stated that Guyana will have enough vaccines to cover its population this year as he mentioned the number of arrangements that are in place with the other developed countries and organisations to make this possible.

He, finally, spoke about the damage that vaccine hesitancy could have on government and urged a shift from hesitancy to vaccine enthusiasm.
It is alarming that vaccine hesitancy is at such an alarming point if one takes into consideration all that had been done in Guyana and coercing people to get vaccinated will not help.
Firstly, while this number is a good sign that persons are getting vaccinated, there needs to be at least about 70 per cent if we are going to achieve herd immunity.

That means we will have to likely still honour the guidelines and regulations that are in place for us to prevent the spread of the virus. We will, for the foreseeable future, have to abide by the curfew and lockdown imposed for our safety and good.

Secondly, focus is needed on getting more locations at which people can conveniently get their jabs. The National Inoculation Campaign must be further decentralised to achieve this. Add other safe sites and location to reach more persons that do not like converging in hospitals, health centres and public sites. The aim is that if the numbers of the persons who are tested and vaccinated against the disease goes up, chances of achieving herd immunity will go up and the virus would become less effective.

Thirdly, if the health officials come up with creative ways to get people who have doubts about the vaccines, onboard, apart from hosting ‘drive-thru’ campaigns which are successful, it would help. Perhaps, starting a Special National Vaccination Lottery where you give out a number of land, houses, cars and prizes is a good start.

Maybe, the private sector and other stakeholders could invest specifically to achieve this goal which should see the cooperation of the public. We must ensure that we do everything in our power to get people to accept the vaccines that are being offered to the public and become effective communication gurus because more and more people are contracting and dying from the COVID-19 virus especially in cases where there are underlying conditions.

Finally, what the minister said will surely happen if we just show the willingness and cooperation to get vaccinated. We will win the fight against COVID-19 pandemic with the right blend of vaccines, tests, management capabilities and decisions, strict adherence to the guidelines and regulations, strong political will and a strong communication campaign. This disease has affected life in so many ways that are too many to mention.

Get vaccinated! Do your part to protect yourself and the wider Guyanese population!