Campaign planned to coax seniors to vaccinate

| 23/02/2021 | 83 Comments
Cayman News Service
HSA vaccination certificate

(CNS): Local people have been co-opted to help the Health Services Authority in a campaign to encourage the last few hundred seniors still holding out to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Cayman has given at least one shot of the Pfizer vaccine to around 81% of the over 60s but government is hoping to get 90% of the elderly members of the community full vaccinated against the coronavirus with both shots before it makes any changes to the current quarantine and border arrangements.

Premier Alden McLaughlin said Tuesday that it was always more difficult to get over the line the nearer you got to it because of “the hold outs”, but that a fresh campaign was being planned. He said that Caymanian voices would be used to persuade other Caymanians who still have reservations about it why they should get vaccinated.

“I am very optimistic… We have exceeded our expectations in the numbers in the vulnerable groups,” he said. “Within another few weeks we will reach the target and start talking about reducing quarantine.”

If 70% of the population is vaccinated by April or early May, at that point the mandatory isolation will be lifted and the borders opened, he said, maintaining that once the vaccine programme is open to everyone, the numbers will reach that target quite quickly.

“I am …excited at the prospect of us getting 70% of the overall population vaccinated, which would mean we can do away with the isolation period altogether,” he said, despite the scientific evidence that the vaccine is not a panacea.

Most experts believe that, even with 70% vaccination levels, social distancing, mask-wearing and other measures will still be required to prevent the spread for some time yet. Nevertheless, McLaughlin said, “Cayman will be one of the few countries in the world that can re-open safely.”

So far, around 24% of the entire population has been vaccinated. In the latest figures from Public Health released on Tuesday, officials revealed that 12,710 people have had at least one vaccine shot and 7,758 of them have had the full course.

No new cases of the virus were reported today. There are currently 26 active cases among the 733 people in quarantine and isolation. One person is suffering symptoms of COVID-19.


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Comments (83)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    Sooo if ppl right now all decided just stop taking the jabs completely even the elders your saying we would never open?? What a time to be alive!🤣

  2. Anonymous says:

    Information from the UK government website on the Pfizer/Biontech vaccine:

    1. The vaccine is not safe for pregnant women.
    2. The vaccine is not safe for women planning on becoming pregnant within a few months of taking the vaccine.
    3. The vaccine is not safe for those who are immuno suppressed (experience allergic reactions).
    4. No testing or trials have been performed to determine long-term side effects.
    5. No testing or trials have been performed to determine the side effects if taken with other prescribed medications.
    6. It is unknown if the vaccine will cause infertility.
    7. Taking the vaccine will not stop you from getting COVID-19.
    8. Taking the vaccine will not prevent you from spreading the virus.
    9. You cannot breastfeed if you have had the vaccine.
    10. The vaccine has not been tested or trialled on children and is not suitable for persons under the age of 16.
    11. Neither the UK government nor the vaccine manufacturers accept responsibility for death or personal injury resulting from taking the vaccine.
    In fact both Pfizer & Biontech sought explicit immunity from prosecution in the case of deaths or personal harm from taking the vaccine.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/regulatory-approval-of-pfizer-biontech-vaccine-for-covid-19?fbclid=IwAR2L52Cv7dyCPr9ZNAxw3aH933qaWXBW9Sc0_BGsU7w5TxOqQER0owFxbkI

  3. Anonymous says:

    No vaccine?

    No CINICO.
    No free hospital when you get corona.

  4. Anonymous says:

    Agree with a friend, all work permit holders, PR, status holders, new Caymanians can go first that should cover about 80-95% of population.

  5. Anonymous says:

    The Pfizer vaccine is probably the best vaccine out there right now and we are very fortunate to have received so many early doses. But in terms of government re-opening policy, do we bother listening to the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) in regards to it’s diminished ability to ward-off B1351 (now well distributed to every continent), or do we keep pretending this information hasn’t been out there for weeks? Norway’s B1525 doesn’t necessarily even show up on last year’s PCR screening tests. Fatigued by a year of pandemic, do we disregard and ease into these game-changers, or sensibly take additional proactive precautions knowing these are inevitably coming to test our health measures?

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/18/south-african-covid-variant-may-cut-pfizer-vaccine-protection-by-two-thirds

    • Anonymous says:

      The decrease in neutralizing antibodies doesn’t correlate directly to a decrease in vaccine effectiveness.
      https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/17/health/pfizer-vaccine-south-africa-variant/index.html

      “While the blood serum samples produced less neutralizing antibody activity, it was still enough to neutralize the virus, they wrote in a letter to the journal. This is in line with other studies. And it’s well within what is seen with other viruses, one of the researchers said.”

      According to Scott Weaver, director of the Institute for Human Infections and Immunity at the University of Texas Medical Branch and an author of the study:
      “Although we do not yet know exactly what level of neutralization is required for protection against COVID-19 disease or infection, our experience with other vaccines tells us that it is likely that the Pfizer vaccine offers relatively good protection against this new variant (South African variant),”

      Pfizer said there is no evidence in real life that the variant escapes the protection offered by its vaccine.

  6. Anonymous says:

    HSA just needs to explain in simple child-like terms, what an mRNA vaccine is, and how this vaccine works in the human body with first and second dose. Tens of millions have received both doses now. The fear mongers and anti-vaxers can’t cite any statistically meaningful data to counter the vaccination, over the somewhat inevitable, infected alternative. Educate and vax without the lazy strong-arming, and if that segment still declines, move on to the next category. Don’t hold up the doses.

    • Anonymous says:

      So now the CDC VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System) website has no “meaningful data”?

      Just because you are apparently oblivious to the severe side effects and deaths being reported does not mean others aren’t and perhaps that’s why they aren’t jumping up to be part of the human trials.

      You want it, take it but it’s still emergency use and still each persons choice.

  7. Anonymous says:

    Just tell them it protects against “The Gay” and they’ll be lined up for miles. Time to move on to those who want it.

  8. Anonymous says:

    CNS, why won’t you post my comments mentioning the Nuremberg Code?

    CNS: Because it’s twisted anti-vax “logic” that will cause people to die. Half a million people dead from covid in the US and you still can’t admit that you were wrong. Show me one court in the US where your logic has prevailed.

    The Nuremberg Code was in response to horrific medical experiments done by Nazi doctors on Jewish and other prisoners. It does not apply to vaccinations developed to save lives made available through an expedited process. The testing for the covid vaccines was done on volunteers. FDA Emergency Authorization does not make it experimental. Here’s the FDA’s explanation. And encouraging people to take it is not the same as enforcement.

    Every government has a responsibility to protect their people and this includes vaccinations to protect the wider public and in this case to seek a way for economic stability.

    A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. We should keep listening to the experts.

    • Anonymous says:

      I’m shocked at your response regarding the Nuremberg Code that advises on “informed consent” and the criteria required in medical research tests.

      *CNS: Read Nuremberg Code Addresses Experimentation, Not Vaccines. It’s just another bogus conspiracy theory doing the rounds on social media. See also: Fact check: Mandatory mask wearing is not a ‘war crime’ that violates the Nuremberg Code. At some point you have to get tired of being idiotic and believing every stupid thing you read on Facebook.

      Everyone should be advised to read about it and make up their own minds whether they think the information they have received fulfils its criteria. It is a legal principle and not an anti-vaxxers litany.

      *CNS: It’s a legal principle that is being used in the wrong context by the anti-vaxers because they jump on every single stupid BS idea they find on social media. I note that there was no response to my invitation to find a single court case where this legal theory prevailed.

      You yourself should ask a very vital question: What if the human experts are wrong? Remember that, according to the experts, the Titanic was unsinkable.

      *CNS: These doctors and nurses battle covid all day. Then they go online and fight misinformation.

      I’ll sit cautiously on the sidelines with my mother and if all is well in 7 years, we’ve agreed to then consider whether the minute side effects of the illness is worth the vaccine, which by the way, as Gates and Fauci clearly stated, may not protect against the disease, but against the symptoms. Many people are actually asymptomatic. With that in mind, we should consider whether we want to push people to vaccinate with a potion that has very little pre-deployment testing.

      Pathologists are also emphasizing that a person dying “with” is not the same as dying “from” CV19, a common expression.

      *CNS: The overwhelming problem now is that every idiot with a YouTube channel or a Facebook page is spreading disinformation that is scaring people away from taking the vaccination.

    • Anonymous says:

      CNS the FDA website clearly states that “An Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) is a mechanism to facilitate the availability and use of medical countermeasures, including vaccines, during public health emergencies, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic.

      *CNS: Again, read Nuremberg Code Addresses Experimentation, Not Vaccines, which is what this thread is about. Or Reuters Fact check: Staff administering COVID-19 vaccines are not war criminals. There is no court case where this legal theory has prevailed. It’s just more disinformation that has gone viral.

      Under an EUA, FDA may allow the use of unapproved medical products, or unapproved uses of approved medical products in an emergency to diagnose, treat, or prevent serious or life-threatening diseases or conditions when certain statutory criteria have been met, including that there are no adequate, approved, and available alternatives. Taking into consideration input from the FDA, manufacturers decide whether and when to submit an EUA request to FDA.”

      Clearly, the mRNA vaccine is unapproved but given emergency use authorization. In my humble opinion, if an unapproved medicine or vaccine is being used in a state of emergency (EUA), then clearly not enough data was collected for the FDA to give the rubber stamp of approval and would deem the distribution of the unapproved medicine experimental. Further to that point, new variants have come out that have now shown the vaccine to be less effective on the new strains and data is still being collected in real-time. If that is not an experiment then I don’t know what is.

      • I know you mean well, but you’re using very dodgy logic in your censorship. In effect, you are arguing that the vaccines are not experimental. In other words, you are claiming that the science is settled. I don’t think I’m alone in saying, “No it’s not!”

        CNS: Gordon, I know you mean well but you are completely missing the point of this thread, which is about the latest and thoroughly bogus conspiracy theory that the covid vaccine violates the Nuremberg Code. This is a legal argument with no basis that could unnecessarily scare people from administering or taking the vaccine. Again, I invite anyone to provide an example where this legal theory has prevailed in court. However, I have provide several links to lengthy explanations as to why this is bogus.

        Of course we don’t know what’s going to happen years down the road, but in the meantime, to save millions of lives, governments are fast tracking authorisation of the various vaccines after their experts (actual experts and not YouTube “experts”) examined the data and were assured as far as is possible that the vaccines are safe and that they are essential to getting the world back to normal. If in your head this makes it experimental, fine, don’t take the vaccine, but leave the Nuremberg Code out of it. (BTW Wendy does not and never has moderated the comments.)

  9. Anonymous says:

    I do not agree with the Government’s policy of having staff from Faith Hospital calling those over 60 on multiple occasions trying to coax them into getting the vaccine.
    At what point when you call those people does it become harassment? If a person tells you no, it is their choice and it means no.
    So why Faith Hospital are you calling the same people 3,4,5 times? This is just pure coercion and puts the person on unnecessary stress.
    You can argue the merits of getting the vaccine or not – but even the foremost experts in the world cannot tell you how long it is good for. Also keep in mind, that many many people around the world experience adverse affects from the vaccine.

    Common sense will tell you if that you are an elderly person living in the Rest Home or someone who simply does not travel off the island, you may not be inclined to want to take the risk of getting a vaccine.

    The Premier seems hell-bent on opening up the economy and that seems to be a purpose-driven, concentrated effort to use
    coercion on those over 60 to get a vaccine.

    Can we get some public statements about getting the vaccine from the two representatives from CBE and CBW/LC?

    • Anonymous says:

      If you don’t want the vaccine that’s absolutely fine; just sign a form saying you understand the risk of not taking it and that you forfeit access to treatment for severe covid 19.

      • Anonymous says:

        Why? What rubbish!

        • Anonymous says:

          Because if you decide to not protect yourself that’s on you. Suck it up buttercup.

          • Anonymous says:

            What about those who have had adverse reactions to vaccines in the past? They can’t take the vaccine and they most certainly still deserve treatment. Stop being so hateful and ignorant to others trials. Be grateful you are in a position to safely take the vaccine?

          • Anonymous says:

            If someone does not want it, why do they do have to fill in a form? Exhale daisy!

          • Anonymous says:

            Buttercup reflecting under your chin, had my jabs, doesn’t mean those that don’t want it have to sign a form. Stick it cricket, cricket.

      • Anonymous says:

        I guess the same with all the smokers and drinkers that knowingly consume. Should we send them to the dump?

      • Anonymous says:

        Using this logic we should also sign waivers for disease related to obesity, tobacco and alcohol. Perhaps we should also not give treatment to those involved in road accidents because over 1.3 million die every year in vehicles. My point being we all know the risks and we choose to take them.

      • Anonymous says:

        So you want the Government to force me to sign a document saying I don’t want the vaccine – sounds like a real democratic thing to do since the whole vaccine thing is “voluntary”.

      • Anonymous says:

        At the same time, since you are signing consent to waive all liability on the government and vaccine companies’ parts then you too should understand that you are forfeiting medical access and financial cost of any severe side effects or death incurred from TAKING THE VACCINE.

        I think that’s fair – WE take all responsibility for ourselves if we get Covid and didnt take vax but YOU take all responsibility for yourselves if you get sick FROM taking the vaccine. Then everybody takes responsibility for their OWN choices.

    • Anonymous says:

      “Take the risk of getting a vaccine?”

      WTF are you watching on TV?

  10. Anonymous says:

    Why not take a more direct approach shoot them from a distance with the vaccine. We have a few crack marksmen here. And they are bigger targets than iguanas, much slower too.

    • Anonymous says:

      Anonymous @23/2/11:43pm – Moron! Ever think that you may be a senior citizen one day, or do you expect you’ll die from SADD (stupidity and disrespect disorder) before you reach that age? Perhaps that’s a better option for your type!

  11. Anonymous says:

    Set a specific date range for each group and at the end of that range, move on to the next group….no matter what. Waiting to see if/when people show up for jabs while others would gladly take them is stupid.

    People are entitled to say no but don’t let that slow down the process for others.

    • Anonymous says:

      Totally agree. Waiting for people to decide if they want it or not when there are plenty of people who would gladly take it is poor logic.

    • Anonymous says:

      So, basically, exactly what they have done.

      • Anonymous says:

        No, they’ve been dragging their feet and trying to “coax” people to get it while sitting on a stash of vaccines!

  12. Anonymous says:

    brave words from alden…and very easy to say this side of an election. i hope he is right and i hope the anti-vaxxers get the message because they will be the ones at risk when the borders do re-open.
    btw the people will not accept social restrictions/ partial lockdown… just so we can let a few tourists come back.

    • Anonymous says:

      Well while the anti vaxers delay the rollout they’re putting us all at risk and delaying any safe reopening.

      • Anonymous says:

        If you’ve already gotten the vaccine, and you believe it is keeping you safe, how can anyone choosing to not get the vaccine be “putting you at risk”?

        Don’t forget, there are many people who don’t fit the criteria on the vaccine form, and thus cannot get the vaccine. Perhaps if we got the Oxford vax, more would accept it, as that same criteria isn’t applicable to the Oxford.

    • Anonymous says:

      We can’t loosen health restrictions (against the backdrop of an accelerating third wave elsewhere), and “re-open” without also accepting some “politically acceptable” reintroduction of community-spread virus; and that will necessitate reintroduction of masks, distancing, social restrictions, grocery rationing, and partial closures, forfeiting some of the extraordinary and comparatively unusual human liberties we have enjoyed these last 8 months.

      We need to dispel the notion there will be some quasi-reality middleground where we can have both incoming virus and normality, especially with expanding new variants that don’t show up on a PCR test, and strains for which the vaccine offers limited benefit.

      A month ago Alden himself was echoing scientists to our Chamber of Commerce that the new variants were “game-changers”. Yet, on the targeted reopening date, yet no variance has been issued for that schedule…even knowing there is limited inoculative effect with the Pfizer vaccine.

      As the bodies pile up, we can take comfort knowing that Dart is making some money at their hotels, and that some millionaire transients can finally again enjoy a cup of diluted rum punch.

    • Anonymous says:

      Alden spoke to the Chamber about the Pfizer vaccine, though better than nothing, does not inoculate any population from the new “game-changing” variants circulating. He knows that fact, has shared it, and has decided to stick to the reopen schedule anyway. How should we feel about that…heading into an election?

  13. Anonymous says:

    vaccine centre at airport should be 24-7 assuming we have enough vaccine.
    you will sonn reach your target.

  14. Anonymous says:

    israel is bringing in vaccine card so people can do normal stuff….so if anti-vaxxers don’t want to get vaccinated then they should not be let travel, or go to public places.
    they will sonn get the message

    • Anonymous says:

      Except that doesn’t work for children or pregnant women. Vaccinated people should not be treated as the elite with more rights.

  15. Annie says:

    I have heard so many conflicting things. One friend got the vaccine, because her employer said bartenders are group one. My reading of the roll out is that bartenders are group 3. Or group last. I think it would be helpful if government clarified this a smidge. I am in my late fifties, in retail, but it appears I get vaccinated after poodles.

  16. Anonymous says:

    Let Darwin do his work. If by now you have not taken advantage of your access to the vaccine then it is time to move on. I have done both doses and each time I went to the airport I walked right in and was out after the 15 minute post shot wait.

    • Anonymous says:

      If you believe in natural selection, then you should not take the vaccine, let the disease take the weak so the strongest survive and pass on the genes.

      • Anonymous says:

        That is not how it works, and one does not need to “believe” in something that has been proven. Do you need to “believe” that water is wet?

        Natural selection selected members of the Homo genus who evolved the ability to use tools, wear clothes in cold climates, and cook food to extract more nutrients.

        Another example is natural selection selecting sea otters who figured out to use rocks to get their food.

        • Anonymous says:

          I suggest you read Darwin’s ‘origin of species’. There you will learn of changes of genotype. You might be one of those that believe we are descended from the apes, but you will find scientist that will state quite the opposite! Using syllogisms in arguments is really not very convincing.

          • Anonymous says:

            Oh, don’t take my word for it, just look at all the Homo sapiens wearing clothes and reproducing, then visit the archaeological sites / graves of other members of the Homo genus who didn’t figure out how to wear clothes.

          • _||) says:

            Darwin taught us that birds with longer beaks reach the insect in the hole easier and therefore pass their genes on, while the shorter beaked species starved and died off when their preffered insects learned to hide in holes (while the insects who did not hide were selected against by being eaten).

            However, if the shorter beaked species learned to use a tool to acquire food, their intelligence would have prevented them from being naturally selected against.

            11:50 am is right, and you’re misunderstanding the concept or trying to troll.

    • Anonymous says:

      From the viewpoint of keeping people alive and not being a burden on the health system we should also ban obesity, tobacco and alcohol. No vaccine required.

      • Anonymous says:

        And sex…..Unless you can prove it was for procreation…STDs and all. Why stop there? Anyone with AIDS, HIV,herpes, HPV should also be considered lepers like those who dont want the Covid jab.

  17. Anonymous says:

    CNS, you’re double counting doses. You need to multiply the number who are fully vaccinated by two and subtract from the overall figure to calculate the additional people who have their first dose.
    It’s around 7,800 fully vaccinated and 5,000 with their first dose only, or 13,800ish overall with some level of protection. Puts us closer to 21% of persons with at least one shot, if using 65,000 for the population.

    CNS:
    7,758 people have had two doses = 15,516 doses
    Total number of doses given so far is 20,468
    20,468 – 15,516 = 4,952, which is the number of people who have had one dose
    4,952 + 7,758 = 12,710 people who have had at least one dose, i.e. either one or two doses, which is the number given in the article.

    An estimated 12,000 people left after lockdown
    65,000 – 12,000 = 53,000
    53,000 x 24% = 12,720
    Granted that the actual current population is an estimate and no one really knows.

    • Anonymous says:

      When is the next census? Seems a bit silly we have no good idea of the number of people living here…

      CNS: October. It was supposed to take place in 2020 (every ten years) but the pandemic happened.

      • Anonymous says:

        Civil Service excuse

      • Anonymous says:

        It was pathetic that the census wasn’t done. We hear all this bragging about “Cayman is Covid free” but now it’s “Couldn’t do the census due to the pandemic”. What a crock.

        • Anonymous says:

          It is pathetic that you cannot comprehend that people did not want unknown individuals coming to their homes simply for the sake of census. Don’t know where these people have been or what they may have been exposed to. Get a grip.

  18. Anonymous says:

    Open it up to everyone now..400 people vaccinated a day is complete.incompetence by the HSA. Ten lines at the airport for vaccines..that’s 40 per line each day..They should have 400 done by mid-day..

    It’s not like we don’t have enough vaccines..They are sitting in the fridge at the HSA

    • Anonymous says:

      I agree seems crazy not get going on the next group if there is capacity. How long are we going to delay while we try and educate antivax idiots? Shame after such a brilliant start. Come on let’s get moving…

      • Anonymous says:

        People not taking the vaccine are exercising their right to caution. Stop bullying.

        • Anonymous says:

          They’re welcome not to take it, I couldn’t care less but I don’t see why that should hold up everyone else getting it who does want it.

      • Anonymous says:

        You do realize this isn’t a vaccine don’t you? You should probably educate yourself before you start shooting untested gene therapy into your body.

        • Anonymous says:

          Not a vaccine? Educate myself? LOL.

        • Anonymous says:

          Dude, you are cuckoo for coco puffs.

        • Anonymous says:

          You are 100% correct. The word “vaccine” already has a medical definition of how the vaccination process works. The “mRNA vaccine” does not fall under that definition as it works completely different from a traditional vaccine. mRNA should not legally be called a vaccine. It should be called a treatment. However, how many people would have taken “treatment” for COVID-19 if they’ve never been infected.

          • Anonymous says:

            CNS -If you wish to push people to be the test subjects for an untested gene therapy which may have possible detrimental side effects down the road because it makes you feel “safe” you are welcome to it. Just please don’t come at those of us who have lived through such things as the Tuskegee Experiments and Thalidomide and paint us with a scarlet letter because we choose not to put all our faith in another government plan run by incompetency purely for monetary reward. This does not make us what you call “Anti-Vaccers” just educated people…what happened to your “My Body, My Choice” Mantra?

            *CNS: It is understandable that the Black community in the US are suspicious of vaccines after the Tuskegee experiment but that is not what is happening here. For reference read the CDC Tuskegee Timeline. The Thalidomide episode was also tragic but lessons were learned.

            The problem is that people are reading nonsense and mistaking this for being educated. It’s become almost impossible to have a balanced argument because of all the bogus crap that everyone has to deal with. I’m linking this again because it’s worth reading: These doctors and nurses battle covid all day. Then they go online and fight misinformation

      • Anonymous says:

        People exercising their right to choose are not idiots!

        • Anonymous says:

          I exercise my right to chose to play Russian roulette. I am, by any reasonable definition, an idiot.

          • Anonymous says:

            Your comment is totally irrelevant.

            • Anonymous says:

              No it’s not

              • Anon says:

                It actually is seeing as many people do not fit the criteria required to take the vaccine. That does not make them an idiot, antivaxer, or whatever other bs name you wish to call them. Some people simply cannot take it due to other Heath issues and concerns.

    • Anonymous says:

      If we have a sudden freak accident, such as a quakes or whatever (like the freeze that Texas just experienced) that cuts power to the freezers, that’s a complete waste of the thousands of doses just sitting there. Put them to work ASAP!!

    • _||) says:

      The fact that a population who believes in talking snakes and sky fairies is susceptible to also believing that vaccines are the mark of the beast is NOT grounds to say that the HSA is incompetent. This is why the pastors have been asked to campaign, alongside the HSA’s pre-existing efforts!

      Perhaps if we stopped indoctrinating our children into a fairytale from birth and boosted the science curriculum instead of praying for 30 minutes every morning, we wouldn’t have a large chunk of the population fearing and shunning the very people who study science to save their ignorant lives!

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