–Health Minister reports

MINISTER of Health Dr. Frank Anthony has noted that though the government has granted healthcare workers, public transport operators and conductors two more weeks to comply with the COVID-19 Emergency Measures (No.20), which took effect on August 01, 2021, a number of healthcare workers are yet to be vaccinated.
According to the updated COVID-19 guidelines, healthcare workers, and operators of public transportation, including minibus operators, taxi drivers and speed boat operators, must be vaccinated in an effort to minimise the spread of the virus. The guidelines state that unvaccinated people will only be allowed to access in-person services at any government agency or ministry by appointment, while members of the public who are vaccinated will be allowed to access the services offered by the bodies freely. The Ministry of Health has indicated that anyone who does not take the COVID-19 vaccines, inclusive of staff and visitors of government agencies, will be required to provide negative PCR tests.

Minister Anthony noted that while the number of persons getting vaccinated daily has increased since the implementation of the updated guidelines on August 1, 2021, healthcare workers are still lagging behind. “In the health sector, we still have a number of persons who have not been vaccinated, and they probably have different reasons why they are not vaccinated,” Minister Anthony said, adding: “But unfortunately, healthcare workers are at greater risk, and you would remember that early in the pandemic, healthcare workers were labelled as frontline workers, because they were interfacing with persons who were sick with ‘COVID’ on a daily basis. The healthcare workers had to interface with them, which put them at higher risk. And if you’re going to be at higher risk, then, obviously, you should get protection.”

He noted, too, that while healthcare workers had utilises just Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) at the beginning of the pandemic, it was a great risk to their lives, and the lives of their loved ones. “Initial protection in the early days of the pandemic was to use PPEs and so forth, but now, in addition to PPEs, we also have vaccination,” Minister Anthony said. “Our vaccines, we know, work. Vaccines are safe; they are protective, and the evidence we have had so far is that people who are fully vaccinated are not going to get the more severe form of the disease, or end up in the ICU, or dying from ‘COVID’. So we want to urge our healthcare workers to ensure that they are protected,” he added.

The Health Minister further reminded citizens that the Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus continues to threaten the health system of several First World countries, and urged that they be cognizant of the impact it would have on the country should persons remain unvaccinated.
According to research, the Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus (SARS-CoV 2) is deadlier than the original COVID-19 virus; almost 100 per cent more transmissible, particularly so in younger persons. Additionally, the Delta variant affects children more than the original COVID-19 virus.
“We need to protect ourselves; all of us, because we are seeing around the world that there is a surge now with the Delta variant,” Minister Anthony said, adding: “And with the Delta variant, if you’re unvaccinated, unfortunately, you can get a severe form of the infection. In almost every country where there is a surge of Delta variants, we have seen that happen.”