Officials fear low vaccine take-up

| 06/01/2021 | 172 Comments
  • Cayman News Service
  • Cayman News Service

(CNS): Cayman’s governor, premier, health minister and top doctor will be the first people to get the COVID-19 vaccine ,not because they are vulnerable to the coronavirus but because of fears that ‘anti-vaxxer’ sentiment may have gripped the country. Governor Martyn Roper said Tuesday that the take-up level of the vaccine will determine when Cayman gets its next batch, and Premier Alden McLaughlin said he believes it is the only solution to a safe re-opening of borders.

Both men fear that Cayman may be slow to take up the free inoculation against the COVID-19 pandemic and they hope that by getting the injection first at a public event, to be streamed live on TV and the internet on Thursday, the majority of residents might be more will be willing to take it too.

Speaking at Owen Roberts Airport as the vaccines arrived on Tuesday, McLaughlin said he believed the vaccine was safe.

“I am confident that the vaccine is absolutely safe,” McLaughlin said, noting that this was why he had agreed to be among the first to take it. “Almost two million people have died as a result of COVID, so if we don’t immunize ourselves, eventually Cayman is going to lose this bubble… A vaccine is the way out.”

He said he hoped that by the end of March enough residents here will have had the vaccine, which will allow the country to return to something close to normalcy so residents can travel and visitors can return.

Health Minister Dwayne Seymour said there was a lot of “negativity going around, a lot of messages going around with reasons not to take the vaccine”, but he said people should take it. Seymour said that he was skeptical at first but now he believed it was safe.

The vaccine is being distributed for free, and despite fears of a slow uptake, it will being administered on a voluntary basis for everyone. Government has also confirmed that even healthcare workers will not be forced to take the shot

Chief Medical Officer Dr John Lee, who will also be vaccinated in the live-streamed event Thursday, said that people should not worry because, despite what appears to be a rapid process, the research was solid.

“I understand the concerns of many in the community regarding the swift pace of the development of the COVID-19 vaccine but I want to reassure everyone this process has been as stringent as possible,” he said. “The challenge of the pandemic has sped up the development process, as did prompt worldwide funding. The duration of the trials has not been shortened in anyway, and normal safety measures have remained in place.”

Dr Lee has produced a video on the myths around the COVID-19 vaccine, in which he points out that the money invested by world governments in the work to find this vaccine has helped make the process far quicker than normal. Many of those working on the vaccine also drew on existing work.

Since Dr Lee produced the video, the vaccine has been administered to millions of people around the world. By 5 January, according to various reports, around 5.6 million doses in 37 countries have been given out. So far there have been only a tiny number of documented serious ill-effects as a result of the shots, largely due to allergic reactions.

The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is believed to be around 95% effective, but around 70% of the adult population will still need to be vaccinated in order to reach the point of ‘herd immunity’. This is where the virus stops spreading because of the difficulty it has in finding victims to infect who can pass it on to a new host.

Therefore, having buy-in from the community as quickly as possible is the only solution to controlling the pandemic.

However, despite the significant evidence and historical success of vaccine programmes, from small pox to polio, an utterly discredited claim the late 1990s by Andrew Wakefield that the MMR vaccine was responsible for autism added significant fuel to the anti-vaxxer movement.

More information about the vaccine is available on the government website here.


Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Tags: , , , ,

Category: Health, Medical Health

Comments (172)

Trackback URL | Comments RSS Feed

  1. Anonymous says:

    It’s alarming that, “the duration of the trials has not been shortened in anyway, and normal safety measures have remained in place”, has been adopted as the post-truth lie. Clinical trials alone take six to seven years on average to complete, with peer reviewed publication and approvals, adding time to the development pipeline. Before a potential treatment reaches the clinical trial stage, scientists research ideas in what is called the discovery phase. That step alone can normally take from three to six years. Lead with honesty please. Most people will understand the pressing circumstances and deal with the truth, if it’s offered. At best, “it’s probably okay” is an agreeable way to sum up the warp-speed indemnified “emergency use only” Pfizer vaccine.

    In any case, if those vaccinated are 95% “protected”, for some still yet unknown duration (and with potentially counter-indication health costs, and/or untested synergistic interactions with other vaccines), then there are still 5 (falsely confident) people out of a hundred that can get and spread any COVID-19 variant. That’s 10-20 compliantly vaccinated, and perhaps false-negative testing people per plane load, fast-tracked into our community, starting in 7 weeks (March). We only need one passenger, or frontline staff member, to squeak through the arrival PCR netting to set-off community transmission.

    If the vaccinated IgG antibody response declines at varying rates per individual, maybe after 90, or even 180 days, we are going to be repeat jabbing for quite a while before there is any clinical protection here or anywhere else. The line-towing political misinformation certainly isn’t helping those people that can read, and have followed development.

    We may have the first doses today, but will we have the second doses or third or fourth doses of the same? Will costs, convenience, and availability, force us to cross brand suppliers, and create our own pioneering mixed vax study? These are some of the rationale questions vaxers have before they inject things into their bodies.

    • Anonymous says:

      10:19 am: I don’t have the time to wade through this long epistle.

      However, your key points are not worth considering in the face of a deadly pandemic that has already claimed so many lives.

      I have every confidence in the efficacy of the vaccine within the given parameters and I am aware that no vaccine is 100% effective.

      However, it makes sense to take advantage of an opportunity to achieve herd immunity if we all cooperate.

      I will be in line at the first available chance.

  2. Anonymous says:

    I wonder if the individuals that will be getting the vaccine first have the necessary credibility to make others feel comfortable that they should also get the vaccine.

  3. Anonymous says:

    I’m not vulnerable, but I’ll take it if everyone else declines

    • Anonymous says:

      9:45 am? Eh? The govt is prioritizing recipients but eventually it will be available to all.

      If we want to continue to live in a “bubble” we should all take the vaccine.

      Otherwise it is not far fetched that we could end up like Bermuda which had been trailing us for much of the pandemic but now has about twice Cayman cases and is battling its second wave community spread.

  4. Anonymous says:

    Is this just an excuse not to distribute it as widely and quickly as people want? I will roll up my sleeve right now. I have been coping with being stuck on this island in all sorts of unhealthy ways and I have friends who have temporarily relocated to Sarasota who I’d like to go and visit. They’d also like to visit me here and they’re working on getting vaccinated there for that purpose, but they can’t visit me here unless I’ve been vaccinated too. Come on CIG – stop pretending. You get as many doses here as quickly as possible and make them available to everyone and I guarantee you, we will be sufficiently vaccinated. Anyone who doesn’t want to take it is at their own risk. Let’s do this.

    • Anonymous says:

      9:36 am: I know conspiracy theories are rife these days, but I don’t think the govt is looking for any “excuse” to delay distribution.

      I think a cautious roll out is sensible. 1. There is a an expiry date on these vaccines. 2. In addition, the Pfizer vaccine requires delicate handling.

      Once this phase gets rolling, additional supplies will be delivered. No need to worry.

      In the meantime, I will be ready when my turn comes.

  5. Anonymous says:

    Because I’m in what is considered a vulnerable group because of age I am eligible to be amongst the first group. Unfortunately my partner is not in a vulnerable group. So a BIG big thank you to all those who are refusing to get the vaccine, because it greatly increases the chances of my significant other being able to get it.

  6. Anonymous says:

    I’d prefer to wait and see on the vaccine(s), maybe 4-6 months, until millions of patient doses, and months of time are applied to the limited dataset; but I feel there is a bit of a gun to our heads right now. The reckless New Year statements from the Premier reaffirming willingness to open our border in March during a sieging pandemic, is intensely out of touch with the clinical realities elsewhere. Despite the fact that getting it wrong seems to be more on brand for our leadership, this is literally life and death for some people. If we allow USA honor system “vaccinated”, to stroll into our community bubble, not only carrying the virus, but also with a published statistical vaccinated percentage still fully-exposed themselves, we are just weeks away from the end of our bubble as those numbers are applied, even if their arrival PCR is negative. This seems to be the worst time imaginable to decide to hole-punch the condom, and with a new hyper-contagious variant.

  7. Anonymous says:

    People have their reasons. As long as noone forces me to take it, we can all live our lives. Those who want to, go ahead. Those who don’t want to, don’t.

    This back and forth insults of anti vaxxers and sheep and all this garbage is just tiring. People need more in their lives to do and be occupied with so that they don’t sit down and have a fit every time they read a comment from an anonymous person on the internet.

    Find your purpose, pick some life goals and work towards them. Everyone will be better off mentally if we all got off the internet for a bit.

    • Anonymous says:

      9:24 am: you are forgetting that the whole purpose of the vaccine is to immunize the population. That requires 70 % of the population to be vaccinated. Your thinking is shallow and selfish.

  8. Anonymous says:

    Imagine being a regular ass person who watches 2 Instagram videos about a conspiracy and suddenly feeling qualified to come onto social media and tell scientists who spend their lives studying the topic that you know more than them.

  9. McCarron McLaughlin says:

    Why should anyone be subjected to take a vaccine that wasn’t even fully tested on animals? The CIG has done a great disservice to people of the Cayman Islands. Let me qoute from a brief submitted by a pharmaceutical company to the FDA, it states “Available data do not indicate a risk of vaccine-enhanced disease,and conversely suggest
    effectiveness against severe disease within the available follow-up period. However, risk of vaccine-enhanced disease over time, potentially associated with waning immunity, remains unknown and needs to be evaluated further in ongoing clinical trials and in observational studies
    that could be conducted following authorization and/or licensure.” Think about it the applicant is asking the FDA to approve their application even though clinical trails may still have to be conducted.

    There were 30,000 participants in a clinical study that were given the vaccine and not even 1 participant was injected with live virus to test if the vaccine works, but yet CIG expect people with common sense to just be accepting of the vaccine. Don’t be confused about the vaccine’s effectiveness, 95% doesnt mean it will prevent you 95% from getting the virus, what this means is the vaccine is 95% effective in hiding any symptoms should you contract the virus.

    Too many unanswered questions for emergency approved vaccines?

  10. Anonymous says:

    Why not vaccinate the people coming in, if you want to protect the island.

    • Anonymous says:

      IgG response varies by age and immune system function. That’s why this is at least a two-dose vaccine, with courses spaced a month or more apart. Nobody should be allowed into Cayman who has only received their first dose, especially if that was the day before, or day of their inbound flight!

  11. Anonymous says:

    I hope Pfizer or Oxford included “truth serum” in the vaccine.

  12. Anonymous says:

    Will we get the Moderna vaccine? I would prefer it because it does not have viral particles of
    COVID 19. Choice is good.

    • Anonymous says:

      There’s no replicating virus in any COVID “vaccine”; there are no other pieces of the virus.

  13. Anonymous says:

    People who do not want to take the vaccine should be responsible for their own health care costs if they get the virus as a result. The rest of us, including government, should not have to pay for their choice.

    • Anonymous says:

      And yet the vaccinated people travelling and running around with their ‘freedom’ will be the ones who likely gave us the virus. Newsflash by the way, most of us pay our own private health costs.

    • Anonymous says:

      Well you might as well include obesity related disease, alcohol abuse, smokers etc. Certainly wouldn’t be many people left to care for.

  14. Anonymous says:

    Everybody can make up their own minds. Hopefully those that do not want the vaccine understand that they may get the virus and some may die from it once the borders are reopened in a few weeks.

  15. Anonymous says:

    “I swear by my life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine.” John Galt

    Take the vaccine if you want but don’t wrest your happiness on my decisions.

    CNS: Great book, terrible philosophy. It promotes the idea that selfishness is a virtue and greed is good – antithetical to both traditional Christian morality and humanism. However, this does align with the me-first philosophy of many of those who refuse to wear a mask or get a vaccine: personal freedoms trump the good of society.

  16. Anonymous says:

    About 5 million people have had the vaccine. Nobody has died from it in contrast with the virus that has killed millions. The math is pretty easy. As far as long term side effects, after 6 months of the virus spread it is obvious that 5% or so of people who get the virus will have long term health problems as a result. There is no evidence that any of the people who got the vaccine 6 months ago as part of the trials have any long term health problems. Again the math is easy.

    • Anonymous says:

      Ok so youre allowed to publish fake facts? No deaths? But if I write something negative about the vaccine, I am required to back it up with proof and peer reviewed research? WOW.

    • Anonymous says:

      https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2021/01/06/health/coronavirus-vaccine-doctor-death/index.html

      I’ll start a little collection for you….

      CNS: But it’s important to read the article and not just the headline. They are investigating the death and do not know if there is a correlation. The fact is that if you give the vaccination to millions of people, the law of statistics will say that someone may die afterwards for unrelated reasons. So keep an open mind at this point.

    • Anonymous says:

      And another one;

      https://www.google.com/amp/s/m.businesstoday.in/lite/story/healthcare-worker-dies-48-hours-after-getting-pfizer-coronavirus-vaccine/1/427050.html

      Yes of course, they will cite other reasons for death.

      Thing is HUGE NOTE, everything you read says vaccine is safe for healthy people without pre existing conditions.

      Now hands up if youve ever heard of a person who had an underlying condition and had no idea especially in countries where healthcare costs are prohibitive of preventive care.

      Im not saying its deadly or you shouldn’t take it but like anything else, it has risks. So lets stop pretending its 100% safe.

    • Anonymous says:

      This isn’t true. There have been published counter-indications found in most of the study phases in all the fast-tracked vaccine trials. Many of those in US trials were redacted. Oxford-AZ published 4 cases of debilitating transverse-myelitis, similar to symptoms found in some who have had Covid-19. Just in the last couple weeks of rollout, there have been at least 21 USA anaphylaxis allergy “deaths” among early healthcare vaccinated, and a handful in Canada and elsewhere, that required emergency cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Many of them are still recovering in hospital. These are a minority of course, but as numbers are applied, there will be some normal “acceptable” amount of counter-indications and problems. Are these 1 in 100, 1 in 1,000, 1 in 1,000,000? We don’t really know, and the politicians don’t want to wait.

  17. Anonymous says:

    Don’t forget us peasants over in Little Cayman/Cayman Brac.

    With our relatively older and small population it seems like it should only take a couple days for everyone who WANTS the vaccine to actually get it.

    Right now both of our so-called MP’s in conjunction with the relevant Cabinet, Ministry and Health officials should be conducting an all out PR campaign about the vaccine.

    Put out similar or more effort to educating the public about the vaccine – as was done for the failed cruise port

  18. Anonymous says:

    So CIG is saying there is only this number of doses and they don’t know when more are coming? In that case, why are they not purchasing further stocks, like Bermuda has done? They keep saying Cayman is in a good place financially, after all. Seems like another excuse to keep the borders closed …

  19. Anonymous says:

    If you have the “vaccine” you can still contract covid, if you get the “vaccine” you can still pass it on to others, you can also get the covid symptoms, so I ask – what is the point of having this kind of “vaccination”

    Covid “vaccine” it is not like a flu shot, because it uses new technology. A flu vaccine is a diluted version of the virus that might provide a defense if the actual virus is introduced into the human body. There’s no replicating virus in COVID “vaccine”; there are no other pieces of the virus.

    When a patient gets injected with the coronavirus “vaccine”, messenger RNA carries instructions to the cells on how to make COVID-19 spike proteins. The spike proteins have shown to not be harmful to humans during clinical trials. the body can pump out huge quantiles of the spike protein into the blood stream, which can then attack the virus if it’s introduced into the body.

    Generally, the more of a foreign protein you have, the strong an immune response will make to it. The spike protein is not reproduced in human cells forever, but enough should be produced to make a really strong immune response. So in essence, it appear to be a temporary immune system booster. You know that Overactive immune system is not always good if you ever had allergies or autoimmune condition. But nobody knows yet what to expect in the long run.

    • Anonymous says:

      Thank you. If only people would read more. Wonder how many will actually read the warnings before taking the vaccine. Remember the pharma companies have been waived of being liable so its your responsiblity. You know your body and health better than anyone else.

    • Anonymous says:

      Misinformation causes more harm than good. The vaccine contains material from the virus that causes Covid-19 so it is similar to the regular flu shot. The point to taking the shot is to protect the vulnerable in society and lessen the severity of symptoms should you contract it. It is not a cure but it will save lives, help us build immunity and open the borders.

  20. No Thank you says:

    Thanks, but no thank you. I do wish or intend to take the new COVID Vaccine at this time. I agree, for those excited /interested in taking the vaccine, enjoy- I hope your request is swiftly accommodated.

    In the meantime, I’ve frequently heard half truths, and straight out lies from our Premier and other Ministers, such as Mr. Seymour on other matters that affect our islands, so nothing they say is anything I can permit myself to outright believe or trust.

    Again, to those who wish to take the new COVID vaccines, enjoy.

    • No Thank you says:

      Do NOT wish to take. Do NOT intend to take the new vaccine at this time. Apologies for the missing word “not”

  21. Anonymous says:

    every caymanian i meet comes up with the same lame excuse for not taking the vaccine….
    good for the rest of us… let us take it and get on with our lives…le them deal with the consequences.

  22. Anonymous says:

    jon-jon…the forever idiot…
    why were you skeptical at first???
    what other health minister has said such stupidity?
    sack him now. shame on those who put him in this position.

  23. Anonymous says:

    the world has gone nuts…we have the vaccine but it’s full effect will be delayed because of pure ignorance from people who swallow fake news from the internet.
    for people who refuse to take it….what is their solution???

  24. Anonymous says:

    if the vaccine is not mandatory…cayman will still be in lockdown for travellers for the rest of 2021.
    believe in science…not fake news via youtube!

  25. Anonymous says:

    easy solution:
    just make it mandatory for anybody wishing to travel.
    poorly educated locals will soon learn to stop listening to nonsense via youtube

    • Anonymous says:

      Poorly educated? You probably cant comprehend a quarter of the science journals and articles Ive read. I guess the doctors and nurses around the world who dont want to take it are poorly educated too?

      • Anonymous says:

        Read the article on the schools in Cayman today? Everything is relative. Reading more than Bush does not mean you can read well in the modern worlds standards.

  26. Anonymous says:

    The big question is will the vaccine help against the new strains of the virus emerging around the world?

  27. Anonymous says:

    Borders Open…LOL

    Not to Families!
    They will be traveling to every other Caribbean Island.

    • Anonymous says:

      Exactly – and if there aren’t enough passengers booked on flights, the flights will be cancelled. Cayman can’t become a viable tourist destination again with this approach. But it certainly looks like that is what CIG wants, and to replace the industry with their HNW invitees.

      • Anonymous says:

        HNW invitees is viable and is more sustainable/less environmentally and socially damaging. It is much better for Cayman and Caymanians, and no one has to die in the process.

        • Anonymous says:

          Why, does having money make you immune from the virus?

          • Anonymous says:

            They still have to quarantine. When they have quarantined HNW’s support local businesses much much more than regular people. If you only have room for limited numbers, the more HNW’s the better.

  28. Anonymous says:

    My problem is not that I’m an anti-vaxer it’s just that I don’t think the long term consequences are known. How long does the vaccine give immunity for? Just one of the unknowns… my other concern is that the manufacturers have been given indemnities from governments…. if it’s 100% safe – why are they requesting indemnification? https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/coronavirus-pfizer-vaccine-legal-indemnity-safety-ministers-b1765124.html

    • Anonymous says:

      So here’s the choice.

      1. Don’t take the vaccine, but risk severe illness or death, to yourself and others, and stay in lockdown for the rest of your life.
      OR
      2. Take the vaccine, and be free again.

      If the vaccine needs a top-up, like the annual flu jab, whats the problem ? Take it or die.

    • Anonymous says:

      Probably because there are people who would otherwise take the vaccine and fake reactions or side effects in an attempt to get monetary compensation from those companies

      If there is money to be made you can rest assured that someone somewhere will be trying to make it

      No regulator in the world has said “these vaccines are 100% safe and have no adverse effects” what they have said is taking into consideration the virulence of this pandemic and weighing the risks on both sides the vaccines should be authorised

    • Anonymous says:

      Millions have now been vaccinated and very few have had any serious symptoms. It is true, we do not yet know how long the vaccine will be effective for yet. The indemnification requested make sense due to the short timespan this was developed. They do not want to be responsible since they can’t control a lot of factors that they could control in the trials. The vaccine could be misused.

      From everything that’s out there you can make a decision for your own personal health.

  29. Anonymous says:

    Health Minister Dwayne Seymour said there was a lot of “negativity going around, a lot of messages going around with reasons not to take the vaccine”, but he said people should take it. Seymour said that he was skeptical at first but now he believed it was safe.

    Now we have heard it from our esteemed medical expert, I feel a lot safer (NOT).

    • Anonymous says:

      They also claim cannabis has no medical benefits in court. But privately say it helps

    • Worried Bout d'future says:

      How could the Health Minister even state this, “Seymour said that he was skeptical at first but now he believed it was safe.”

      What have we come to.

    • anonymous says:

      I heard that one pastor in Cayman is advising his flock not to accept the vaccine because the “Devil is in it.” He should be jailed for putting his flock and everyone else at risk. He belongs back in the 13th century where he’d fit right in. How does he think Polio was eradicated?

  30. Anonymous says:

    When will the details of how to get the vaccine be made public?

    CNS: There will be a press conference this afternoon (Thursday), when the full details of the locations and order of groups will all be unveiled. We know that the first few weeks will be all about the over 70s, institutional residents, those with severe health problems and front-line workers at the airport and heath facilities.

    • Robert Hulse says:

      Exactly. I am considered high risk because of my age and I want to take it asap but they are not telling us how, when or where. Please can someone in authority make it known to the general public.

    • Anonymous says:

      I feel like restricting it to a certain age group at a certain time is going to cause some vaccine to sit on the shelf and go bad. It can’t sit in a fridge waiting for people to walk in and get it. They should do lines like at the airport at each distribution location, this lane is 70+ and immunocompromised, next lane is 50-70, next lane is under 50. If you give shots to everyone at your location in the first lane start on the next. Sure some people will wait a long time, some will not get it even after they wait, but it will get shots into arms faster and waste not a single dose like we are seeing in the US. If people are willing to wait in the dark for Cost U Less to open on black Friday to maybe get the TV they want, they can wait in line for a vaccine to maybe get it while wasting not a drop because of a prescribed distribution plan.

  31. Anonymous says:

    not taking it

    • Anonymous says:

      That’s fine, I’ll move up the queue faster then. Natural selection will take the anti-vaxxers eventually and the smart people will be left which can only be good for society.

  32. Anonymous says:

    This means I’ll get mine quicker. Move the sheep out of the way so those that want it can get it quicker

    • Anonymous says:

      Also bear in mind Moderna is a blocker you can’t give covid to anyone, but Pfizer isn’t sure…..

      HOpe cayman has their Epi Pens ready in case

  33. Vinnie says:

    Our department are ready send it

  34. Anonymous says:

    If government allowed people to register their interest in receiving the vaccine with their hospital/district clinic rather than speculate then perhaps they could see how wrong they are. Everyone in my family and almost all of my acquaintances and friends want to get vaccinated. Where do we sign up.

  35. Anonymous says:

    I can’t wait to grow a third nipple, lose my hair and speak backwards….jab me baby.

    Seriously, rushing to take a vaccine for a virus with such a low mortality rate is absurd. Of course, those rushing to take it wont like reading that. But it is. It’s absurd. Wait a few years to see if there’s any adverse reactions (there are already btw), but not only that, you need to wait to see if the thing works (its already showing people are getting Covid even after vaccination), and then wait to see how often you’ll need it? Every year like the flu? And so on.

    You don’t need the vaccine. Unless you do (obese, pre-existing/old). And even then, you only need it if you think you’ll be in contact with people who have it. When was the last time you licked a cruise passenger?

    People are nuts. The world has gone mad. And nobody is dying if the flu these days. Amazing.

    • Anonymous says:

      well said.
      but people being brainwashed, what would you expect?

    • Anonymous says:

      And yet many more get the flu vaccine annually – ironically, reducing the number killed by… FLU!!! FFS…

      • Anonymous says:

        Covid “vaccine” it is not like a flu shot, because it uses new technology. A flu vaccine is a diluted version of the virus that might provide a defense if the actual virus is introduced into the human body.

        There’s no replicating virus in COVID “vaccine”; there are no other pieces of the virus.
        When a patient gets injected with the coronavirus “vaccine”, messenger RNA carries instructions to the cells on how to make COVID-19 spike proteins.

        The body can pump out huge quantiles of the spike protein into the blood stream, which can then attack the virus if it’s introduced into the body.

        Generally, the more of a foreign protein you have, the strong an immune response will make to it.

    • Anonymous says:

      Wait now. People are getting COVID after vaccination? Did I miss something? Who? Where? When? Facts please.

    • Anonymous says:

      You don’t need to vaccinate unless you intend to fly for travel when the worlds borders do eventually open up. But you need not worry then ,as you probably won’t be flying . There will be no cruise passengers here either for you to worry over for a long while. Give it a few years.

  36. Anonymous says:

    Please make sure the Minister of Health receives his vaccination while sitting on a donkey during a full moon.

  37. Anonymous says:

    Sign me up. I need a vacation and 2 weeks quarantine isn’t an option. So here I sit till I get that a couple of shots in my arm

  38. AnonoVax says:

    I think the better idea here would be to allow ANYONE to take the vaccine. Once there are lineups, and people clamoring to get it, then FOMO will set in. If you see 10 of your friends that got the vaccine, and they are all FINE, then others will get comfortable. I propose that they do the elderly and healthcare workers; but after that make it first come first serve! Setup an online ticketing system, and start vaccinating as many willing people as possible. These slow rollouts are actually killing the numbers. We need it in as many willing arms as possible as soon as possible. We’re COVID-free, so we don’t need a staged roll-out like other countries.

    • Anonymous says:

      Perfect idea. Give it to those that want it, rather than have it sat about waiting to inject people who can’t make up their mind. I’ll start a queue right away.

    • Anonymous says:

      Exactly. If anyone can get it, it’ll be the latest ‘did you do it yet?’ thing. Being vaccinated is going to be like having a KAABOO ticket.

  39. Anonymous says:

    If i was guaranteed i would receive the vaccine upon arrival and the second dose 3 weeks later would be more then happy to return the island. We have been coming there for over 13 years for 5 months at a time.

    • Anonymous says:

      Er, why should we pay for you to have a vaccine if you don’t live here? Vaccines are in very short supply and very high demand. Get your own country to provide you with adequate protection before you come to ours and expect a vaccine that is intended for one of our own.

    • Anonymous says:

      So you’re willing to take a dose away from someone that lives here… Nice.

      But you’d still need to be quarantined until the second dose or for the regular 2 weeks. So come on down now. Not sure I see the difference.

      What are you waiting for!?

    • Anonymous says:

      Sorry. You will have to get the vaccine before you get to Cayman. Caymanians do not share.

      • Anonymous says:

        You mean like we did with all those excess test kits that helped half a dozen countries/territories? Like we do with the displaced tourism worker stipends? Like our craftsmen do with their skills? Like we did when hurricanes struck most of the rest of the region over the past few years? Like we did when we opened our economy and society to the whole world, and provided a path to citizenship? Like we did when our men went away to give service on ships including during wars? Like we did when we integrated the wave of regional immigrants from the late 19th and early 20th centuries? Like we did in 1794 when 10 ships sank off the coast of East End and every single survivor was housed and fed until we had to tell them we couldn’t keep doing it or we’d all starve? We literally share everything we have and everything we are, as small as it is, and it’s because we’ve shared it that it’s multiplied so many times over. We’ve been sharing for many generations and we will go on sharing.

  40. Anonymous says:

    I am 60 years old and will be waiting in-line for the call for the first vaccine shot as soon as my age bracket permits , with no hesitation or concerns on receiving it. The Governments plan to implement the vaccines is in-line with other countries plans to do the same. Sensible people will acknowledge that it isn’t just Cayman who will benefit from this locally , but the world over to enable a “staged” emergence from the Covid crisis. By vaccinating , you will be a key player & a part of world unity to embrace this recovery. It will be proven to be one of the largest & most important world unification excercises that the modern age has undergone.

    • Anonymous says:

      Good for you old Timer, you probably should take the vaccine. Many of us younger folk are unlikely to die from COVID, have our long lives ahead of us and some of us want to have children. So please don’t put pressure on us to take it.

      • Anonymous says:

        And what happens when the next mutation starts affecting a younger demographic with higher mortality rates?

    • Anonymous says:

      Your generation believed everything your masters told you

  41. Anonymous says:

    How do I sign up?

  42. Anonymous says:

    We should be allowed to register our interest in getting vaccinated. I am stuck in stage 3 but I cant wait to take it

  43. Anonymous says:

    Alden, thank you for your leadership. Be careful though. Opening will risk lives, and likely cause loss of lives. You know this. The choice has to be made, but please ensure that everyone who wants the vaccine is able to have had it (both doses and on the recommended schedule) before the community is exposed. This will include children, for whom the vaccine is yet to be approved. This all means it has to be a long wait, and the community needs to be prepared for it.

    • Anonymous says:

      Are you advocating keeping the borders closed for what might be the rest of 2021 (as there is no timetable for the vaccine for 12-16s, never mind the under 12s)? So far, government has said they will only open borders when a decent percentage of the community has been vaccinated AND after that, travelers will require either to quarantine OR produce evidence of full vaccination plus 2 negative tests. That seems pretty cautious to me and low risk (also when weighed up against the long term risk to the economy which is absolutely less important than public health). Of course things are changing all the time – at present a serious impact for under 16s is rare and that might change with a new strain – so it is difficult to plan too far ahead.

      • Anonymous says:

        Borders are likely to have to remain “closed” to regular tourists for the rest of 2021. That is the reality. The alternatives, before we have vaccination of everyone that wants the vaccine, would likely kill people who wanted the vaccine but were unable to access it, all in the name of economic pressures.

        Let’s get on with vaccinations. Then it is masks and social distancing again. Persons who are not vaccinated will have a higher risk of dying. That is their choice, and they should be fully educated in making it. That is what we are signing up for.

        How many low paying tourism jobs are worth an older person’s life? Anyone doing that math? I am uncomfortable with it.

  44. jay says:

    “Believe”

  45. Anonymous says:

    All the people that are scared of a virus with a 99.997% survival rate for people under 40 can take their vacinne voluntarily. Why do they care about other people taking it?

    If it works so well, then you can be happy taking it yourself and not need to worry about what others do.

    • Anonymous says:

      It is only effective if 70+% of the population is vaccinated. But if you read the article, you already know that.

      • Anonymous says:

        Fauci updated that to 80-90% recently. Apparently, he didnt want people to feel overwhelmed or that it would be impossible to achieve if he admitted how high the bar was earlier. Inevitably, the 20%+ of people who dont want to take the vax will be blamed and shamed for letting the world down.

  46. Anonymous says:

    No one can be “…confident the vaccine is ABSOLUTELY safe…”.
    It could be safe for 1,000 and cause anaphylactic for the 1001st. But it is not immediate effects that really matter, but long term effects.

  47. Anonymous says:

    It’s called natural selection… let the anti-vaxxers choose their path and it might do us good in the long run.

  48. Anonymous says:

    If you’re worried about the vaccine consider this – I’ve got a friend who is on the vaccination team at a large UK hospital in East Anglia. Since they started she’s been working 14-hour shifts and personally administered over 5000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine to the over-80s without seeing one single negative reaction. Put in perspective, she says that’s a better track record than the annual flu jabs.

    • Anonymous says:

      Bit of a false analogy there. Your friend isn’t tracking the health of the 5000 doses he/she has given. The world population is now the clinical trial since long term effects are not known. Also don’t forget the manufacturers released the vaccine with indemnity, and for good reason. I am not an anti vaxxer but not convinced this is the cure yet. The manufacturers have also published there effectivity rates, none of which are 100%. People should be able to make their decision without being called ant vaxxers if they are not convinced. The annual flu jab is only a mix to combat the most common strain for that particular year, it is never a guaranteed thing.

      • Anonymous says:

        She may not be tracking them personally but the UK government is so that’s a ‘fake news’ argument.

        And I stated it’s ‘she’ so you clearly didn’t even bother to read my original comment fully did you?

        You’re not an anti-vaxxer? You could have fooled me.

        • Anonymous says:

          Ah so you have heard the term ‘fake news’ and decided that it sounds good and wanted to use it? Fake news are just alternative words for lies. It is no lie that the vaccine companies have indemnified themselves, it is no lie that the vaccines are not 100% effective, it is no lie that they are not approved for kids. It is no lie that there is no evidence to suggest it doesn’t stop spread. Using your ‘friend’ to support straw man arguments is ‘fake news’ though.

      • Anonymous says:

        @5:41 And keep wearing the tinfoil hat – it suits you!

        • Anonymous says:

          6:50 keep being a sheep, it suits you.

        • Anonymous says:

          Oh do me a favour and try to at least be original instead of following all the other sheep with the stupid ‘tin foil hat’ argument. It really isn’t very convincing. Not even entertaining any more.

      • Anonymous says:

        How to tell a politician is lying?

        His lips move

      • Anonymous says:

        In December, half of the nurses and a quarter of the doctors in Germany said they wouldn’t accept any vaccine. This week, the willing had increased only modestly to maybe a third of healthcare workers in Germany. In France, among the most vaccine skeptical countries in Europe, 76% of senior care home staff said they did not want to get vaccinated. In Austria, only half of care facilities staff are willing. In Italy, 100 doctors willing – that’s the total for the entire country. In the US, over a third of healthcare workers are planning to decline the vaccine. Let’s assume many of these people qualified for medical school, and carry accreditation.

        https://www.ft.com/content/c576e15f-e5b1-4369-a5f0-073b4466036f

    • Anonymous says:

      As of December 23, 2020, a reported 1,893,360 first doses of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine had been administered in the United States, and reports of 4,393 (0.2%) adverse events after receipt of Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine had been submitted to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).

      https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7002e1.htm?s_cid=mm7002e1_w

      71% of these occurred within 15 minutes of vaccination. Hospitals are advised to implement the recommended post vaccination observation periods, and immediately treat suspected cases of anaphylaxis with intramuscular injection of epinephrine.

      Adverse reaction from the annual flu shot is around 1 in a million. All of the cases of anaphylaxis can be life-threatening, which is why there is supposed to be a post vaccination observation period of 15-20 minutes.

  49. Anonymous says:

    Of course there are going to be low rates of vaccination here

    After alcohol the next most consumed substance in the Cayman Islands is anti-science right wing garbage (usually tied in with religion)

    People like “Who” and “Unison” being the prime examples of the kinds of lunatics we have around here (for those of you intimately familiar with the regulars in the CNS comments)

    Caymanians will reap what they have sown for decades and it will be no one’s fault but out own for letting faux intellectuals and far right extremists run amok

    • Anonymous says:

      Far right extremists? Calm down. They’re just a bit thick.

      • Anonymous says:

        Yes far right extremists
        Is there another term for the type of people who boldly call in to local radio shows saying things like we should mass deport foreign gay people and put the Caymanian ones in front of firing squads?
        or the people who want the scripture to literally have the weight of law in these Islands

        I eagerly await your response

  50. Anonymous says:

    Sign me up for the vaccine! Don’t know why we are wasting time and energy with anti-vaxxers. It’s called natural selection. That being said they are selfish as they could pass it onto someone who isn’t able to have the vaccine (ie people with severe allergies or are immunocompromised).

    • Anonymous says:

      Anti vaxxers are against all vaccinations, some people are just not convinced. Instead of spreading stupidity, why don’t you focus on offering evidence to support your opinion that it is safe. Oh and you do know that even with the vaccine you can still spread it right?

    • Anonymous says:

      Idiot

    • Anonymous says:

      3:57 better hope you aren’t one of the few to have a negative reaction to this vaccine and “natural selection” takes you. Jackass.

      • Anonymous says:

        10:15 I don’t have severe allergies so I’ll be just fine, jackass. It’s only people with pre-existing severe allergies who are reacting badly. You would know this if you bothered to read the news.

    • Anonymous says:

      So, do you think allowing kids to die because they cannot receive the vaccine is ‘natural selection’?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.