-authorities urge residents to dispel the myths and listen to the facts

THE Regional Health Department of Region 10 (Upper Demerara/Berbice), on Sunday, launched a house-to-house COVID-19 vaccination campaign in an effort to encourage residents to take the jab. Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle via telephone, the region’s health officer, Dr. Gregory Harris, stated that the campaign is a new approach taken on by the regional health authorities to encourage residents to get vaccinated against the deadly virus.
To date, only 13 per cent of the adult population of Region 10 has been vaccinated, placing the region at the bottom of the list when it comes to vaccination across the country.
“When you compare Region Ten to the other regions, there are at 40 per cent-50 per cent and we are still lagging behind,” Dr. Harris emphasised, adding: “Well, Region Ten has a very low coverage, we are 13 per cent overall so we are trying to capture as many persons as we can and today being Sunday, a lot of persons would be in their homes. So, we decided to launch today (Sunday) so we can reach out to a lot of persons and have a one and one discussion with families.”
Both the government and the political opposition have hosted vaccination campaigns of their own in the region to encourage more persons to get vaccinated; however, persons were still reluctant.

Nevertheless, Dr. Harris is optimistic that this new approach will see more persons taking the jab, since the initiative gives residents the opportunity to have one on one discussions with doctors and health practitioners to express concerns, ask questions, eliminate any fears and dispel myths they would have heard or read.
“Everyone has access to social media; people might read different myths and so on, so we want to have that interaction with people in their comfort zone and have that discussion and encourage them to take the vaccine, explain to them exactly the purpose of the vaccine is [and] how the vaccine will protect them,” Dr. Harris explained.
The campaign commenced in the region’s hotspot in Amelia’s Ward, Linden, where over 40 positive COVID-19 cases were recorded in the past few days.
Meanwhile, in relation to the communities that are gravely affected by the torrential rainfalls and severe floods, Dr. Harris disclosed that weekly medical outreaches are being conducted to remind persons of the COVID-19 protocols.
He disclosed that special teams are visiting the various shelters in the region.

“What we are doing in these flood-affected areas are medical outreaches, so we go with a general medical team, a vaccination team and also the COVID team to swab…We are trying our best to sensitise as many persons as possible.”
Having been diagnosed with COVID-19 himself, the Regional Chairman, Deron Adams, who has since recovered, called on residents to dispel the myths and listen to the facts.
During an interview with this newspaper, Adams stated that residents should take information from credible sources, such as the Pan American Health Organization /World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), the Ministry of Health and the Regional Health Department.
Adams further stated that while the vaccine does not prevent one from contracting the virus, it does, however, prevent one from being placed in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and evidently minimises the risk of dying from the virus.
Since Guyana recorded its first COVID-19 case in Match 2020, a total of 1,290 cases were recorded in the region along with 32 deaths to date.
Currently, six persons are said to be in the region’s ICU; there are 162 active cases with some 156 of those persons in home isolation.