COVID vaccine pace slows again
(CNS): Just 164 more people got their first shot of the COVID-19 vaccine over the last day after a surge in up-take over the weekend and a successful vaccine drive in Cayman Brac. Currently 42,521 people, or 65% of the estimated population, have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 56% have had both. But there are now just 15 days left to get the first dose, and more than 2,000 are available, The vaccine supplies on the island will expire at the end of next month, so 9 June is the last day to get the first shot so that the second shot can be administered 21 days later.
On Saturday 84 people were vaccinated during the Ministry of Tourism’s Vaccine Challenge event in Cayman Brac. Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan, Health Minister Sabrina Turner and Parliamentary Secretary Isaac Rankine were there to encourage people to get vaccinated. “I decided to bring the vaccine challenge to Cayman Brac because it is vitally important that all of our citizens and residents in all three Cayman Islands are protected from the coronavirus, and the only way to ensure that is through vaccination,” Bryan said.
The next vaccine challenge event is at Owen Roberts Airport on 29 May from 8am to 4pm, when Bryan, Turner and Rankine will receive their second dose, along with Deputy Premier Chris Saunders, Minister Andre Ebanks and PS Kathy Ebanks-Wilks.
“We are getting closer to 9 June deadline for people to get their first dose so we hope to see hundreds rolling up their sleeves to get vaccinated and enter the draw,” Bryan said. “The opportunity to be vaccinated free of cost is a valuable gift that millions of people around the world would love to have. It would be a crying shame if the Cayman Islands allowed this potentially life-saving gift to go to waste.”
The Ministry of Tourism is providing music and refreshments from 8am to 4pm at the Owen Roberts Airport and members of the PACT Government will be there to meet and greet people as they receive their jabs. Additionally, anyone who is vaccinated between now and 9 June is eligible to enter the Vaccination Challenge prize draw and stands a chance to win prizes ranging from airline tickets, staycations, jewellery, gift vouchers, dinner packages and more.
The drawing to select the winners will be carried live on CIGTV. Further details regarding date and time will be announced shortly.
- Fascinated
- Happy
- Sad
- Angry
- Bored
- Afraid
Category: Health, Medical Health
Lol, our country being held hostage by the uneducated! Too funny. We cannot open because our spineless government won’t mandate vaccination for permits. And we cannot get to 70% due to ignorance of the said population.
We live in No Plan Land
I just told my sister that I will never speak to her ever again if she continues to be an anti-vaccer. I am willing to give up my best friend forever. I am sick and tired of stupid anti-vac people. Her arguments are that the virus is not real. And that our father’s death might have been something else. Wtf? How can you prove a negative.
I’m sorry. You are both grieving. Don’t cut off contact, please.
Sounds like one is logical and the other doesn’t trust science
I am done with anyone who will not get vaccinated. I have deleted them from all of my social media. I will not engage with them nor even respond to them. They are idiots, and are dead to me.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/05/20/opinion/covid-19-vaccine-chatbot.html
NYTimes takes us, “no-covid vaxxers “ for idiots. We are not hesitant, or fearful or unsure or ignorant or uneducated. You offer us a million dollars we still won’t get the jab. Our bodies don’t need this kind of boosters. Our innate immune system is smarter than lab made concoctions. And we do vaccinate our children against diphtheria, polio, measles etc.
So back off.
You say that your “innate immune system is smarter than lab made concoctions,” but you inject similar concoctions into your children to protect against diphtheria, polio, measles, etc? I don’t understand.
You don’t understand the difference between real vaccines and immune boosters against COVID.
There are several types of vaccines, including:
• Inactivated vaccines-use the killed version of the germ that causes a disease.
Inactivated vaccines are used to protect against:
Hepatitis A
Flu (shot only)
Polio (shot only)
Rabies
• Live-attenuated vaccines- use a weakened (or attenuated) form of the germ that causes a disease.
Live vaccines are used to protect against:
Measles, mumps, rubella (MMR combined vaccine)
Rotavirus
Smallpox
Chickenpox
Yellow fever
• Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines-mRNA vaccines make proteins in order to trigger an immune response.
mRNA vaccines are used to protect against:
COVID-19
• Subunit, recombinant, polysaccharide, and conjugate vaccines-use specific pieces of the germ—like its protein, sugar, or capsid (a casing around the germ).
These vaccines are used to protect against:
Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b) disease
Hepatitis B
HPV (Human papillomavirus)
Whooping cough (part of the DTaP combined vaccine)
Pneumococcal disease
Meningococcal disease
Shingles
• Toxoid vaccines-use a toxin (harmful product) made by the germ that causes a disease.
used to protect against:
Diphtheria
Tetanus
• Viral vector vaccines-use a modified version of a different virus as a vector to deliver protection.
used to protect against:
COVID-19
Source: http://www.hhs.gov/immunization/
Sorry but nothing here is saying that the covid vaccine is unsafe. And you also don’t explain why your “innate immune system” will work against covid but not all of the other illnesses listed.
The covid vaccine is safe and effective – stop listening to conspiracy theorists and focus on what medical experts across the world are saying! Do it so that you can keep your friends and family safe by not giving them covid.
Spread it on your morning sandwich if it is so safe. Or better yet add into your coffee.
I don’t mean to be rude but having read your post I think that the NY Times is probably right.
The piece is an opinion of By Arnaud Gagneur and Karin Tamerius, whoever they are.
“the principles of motivational interviewing” my a$$
I feel the exact same way.
You are going mental. See a shrink asap.
We feel the same about you. You only have yourselves to blame.
The Australian Medical Association has come up with an excellent idea to assist safe opening – required outgoing residents who plan to return to be vaccinated.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/may/27/australians-travelling-overseas-should-be-forced-to-have-covid-vaccine-doctors-say
As another consideration in the opening up debate regarding children – from CNN today
“The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) said Wednesday that children who are age 2 or older and not fully vaccinated still need to wear a well-fitting face mask.
The updated guidance recommends children wear a mask at school, in child care programs, at camp, when playing with friends and playing indoor sports and outdoor sports with close contact — if the mask does not become a hazard in a sport like gymnastics.
Face masks should be used outdoors if the child is in a large group setting, or when it is impossible to keep good physical distance from others. The AAP also recommends they wear one at home if they live with someone who is immunocompromised or at-risk for severe Covid-19.”
Wake up Cayman. The government has no intentions of reopening till november. Panton just stated the need for accurate census to then gauge vaccination rates, census will be in oct-nov. Marc Langevin of the Ritz and CITA, has closed the Ritz till nov for renovations, doubt this decision would be made if there was immenent opening plans. Being head of CITA he is in the know of the back room discussions. What is extremely concerning is the lack of transparency and reporting to the people of the government’s plans, but rather continuing silence with intermittent unjustified, scientifically unsupported, random changing of the goalposts for reopening.
Other caribbean nations have reopened with restrictions and less levels of public vaccination rates.
Lets get a plan outlined to the people that is correctly supported by science and current practice, Caymanians deserve it!
Dr Lee has the key to the borders. He knows what’s best for all 65000 people on this island. Best doctor human kind has ever seen!
Struggling to balance “he knows what’s best” with lying on oath about decisions to confiscate medical marijuana (that he had authorized the importation of) because he had an issue with vapes (which he admitted he had no firm medical evidence was actually harmful).
He may well be right about Covid. But he has been found by the court to have lied about medical evidence before, so forgive me before I don’t just accept his views on quarantine as the word of God.
I think we need sarcasm font and Dr. Lee is certainly not perfect.
Last Gov’t did the easy part and closed the borders. It has frankly been a miscommunicated shambles ever since.
Every country is making it up as they go along but out elected leaders have been sorely lacking on many fronts.
If you don’t communicate it creates a vacuum and people fill that with rumours and their own agendas.
PR professionals would shudder to think of how Cayman has handled the communication over the past year plus.
We don’t have to agree with the gov’t and they can change the plan if needed.
But if Panton and the PACT can’t find their big boy pants to get up on stage and tell people what they plan to do they should quit and we can have a new election.
They were not shy three months ago during the campaign, now they are acting like they are in witness protection.
So you mean by October, half y’all that took the jab, will have to be jab all over again?
It is unfortunate we are left to speculate because our government, led by Panton, refuses to provide possible scenarios/timing for a hard or soft opening.
Doesnt the “T” in PACT stand for “transparency”?
The silence is so damn frustrating on something that affects so many lives and plans.
You will hear the word transparency again in about 3.5 years.
Close enough…open the island give the vaccines to Jamaica while they are still worth something.
How about anyone that travels and comes back on islands and doing Government paid Quarantine that has not been vaccinated should have the first dose on entry mandatory. IF they refuse, then they pay the quarantine cost.
How about we implement what Australia is considering – citizens and residents leaving must be vaccinated. Anyone else can have a one way ticket out. That cuts down the risk of returning residents bringing in the virus.
Bet the countries where the unvaccinated Caymanians end up would love that. Keep it simple- only vaccinated people can travel in or out, tourists included. No need for quarantine that way.
Travel for those 16+ should definitely be limited to only fully vaccinated persons. Period.
Cayman. Residents. Visitors. 7-legged-purple aliens. Anyone. Everyone!
3:55, I like your idea but make it that they have to be vaccinated before Travel Time even approves outbound flight!
Or inbound travel
What is the plan for verifying overseas vaccinations. It is far too easy to get a fake vaccination certificate and there is no way of verifying the vaccination documents that travelers from outside Cayman present.
UK has its own NHS App which has personal details, vaccinations and type of vaccine used with dates administered. The document can be shown in the app, printed off or saved as a PDF document. As Cayman Islands are a UK OSD I am sure they will be given access and guidance to verify authenticity of UK travellers.
That would be a great start. Hopefully the NHS App will be recognised by the rest of the G20. That would be even better.
Given that hundreds of Cayman residents are coming and going every week on the Cayman Airways flights, the best plan may be to test something like 2000 people of our own fully vaccinated returning residents at arrival, at 10 days and at 14 days to see how many are infected. If it is none then we should be able to allow our own to travel more freely. That study would harm no one and would provide valuable information for further re-opening.
Oh geez- the compass Panton: Census will help pinpoint vaccination rate
What??
Waiting now till the census is complete to open??
Open the borders! No more waiting around.
This is nuts!
time to petition the governor….panton has no clue….
Well then Cayman is not the only place with idiots.
Just offer $50 cash to each person who comes and gets a shot. If there are 2000 shots left, that is a spend of $100,000, which would seem clearly worth it if it speeds up the reopening of the island.
Last person to leave Cayman please put out the lights.
Gibraltar has fully vaccinated more than 95% of its population and has now fully opened very safely. We are stuck at 56%. It would be interesting to know the factors that explain the difference – ease of access to vaccines, education or other demographics, exposure to ridiculous claims on social media???
Gibraltarians are very British in culture and outlook and the British will put absolutely anything in their arms if it means they can go on holiday. It’s hard for people to understand who don’t have to endure our dreadful weather and over-crowded beauty spots year-round. Gibraltar doesn’t have the terrible weather, of course, but they probably do want to get off that tiny rock from time to time!
Education. They probably don’t have someone like Juliana in charge of education. And that is the nicest way that I could say that.
US Covid hospitalizations are at a 14-month low in the United States at 27,308. This is the lowest level since March 31, 2020.
Vaccines work.
So does sunshine
Right – that is why India has almost no Covid – sarcasm
Respiratory diseases exhibit seasonality outside of the tropics.
Let’s not concern ourselves with a percentage of the total population, or even a percentage of the adult population.
By June 9 will will have achieved the only true metric that matters that will allow us to immediately begin to take steps to open the country.
By June 9, 100% of the people who live in Cayman who want to take the vaccine will have done so.
Let’s open up!
The reason we need to concern ourselves with it is that when we do open up and a bunch of the unvaccinated people get sick, they will quickly overwhelm our limited medical resources. This will a) result in covid patients possibly not having access to the care they need -i.e. we will run out of oxygen and b) hurt all the rest of us who need medical care for the usual reasons.
Are you sure about this? I thought that 90% of over-60s, the group most at risk, was vaccinated. Even so, then what is the plan if people continue to refuse to get vaccinated? Stay closed for another couple years hoping they one day come to their senses? And when they do we have vaccines? Remember the proposal is to only allow vaccinated people to travel without quarantine and they are highly unlikely to spread covid. The government could even make this less of a risk by requiring covid tests for them. It doesn’t have to be the catastrophe that you are outlining.
Given the absence of agreed international vaccination certificates (digital or paper), how do we prevent non-vaccinated people from outside Cayman who are traveling with $10 fake vaccination certificates from entering Cayman with the virus and spreading it locally?
Because the true anti vacxers will not give in. They will never say they got it, get a fake cert.
They will come on the blog boards ans say “look at me, my body my choice!”
9:50 nailed it!!! Anti-vaxxers will proudly brag about never taking it and wouldn’t “sell out” their story with a fake certificate.
Of course I’m not sure of it. But I think it’s a safe bet based on what’s happened elsewhere. Based on many press accounts, many people now in intensive care are much younger. I’m not saying we shouldn’t open up to vaccinated people – I think we should do that. I agree that we can’t keep things the way they are for much longer. A month or two, max.
But to suggest that we don’t need to be mindful of the percentage of the population that has been vaccinated would be foolhardy. It’s not rocket science to do simple math. If you figure that covid is reintroduced to the community and we don’t reintroduce safeguards like social distancing and masking (which no one really wants), and if you have 20,000 unvaccinated local people plus x number of tourists and visitors (5,000? 10,000?), and you assume, say, 5,000 of them get Covid at a time and 2% get sick enough to be hospitalised, that means 100 people in the hospital. Maybe that’s manageable. Maybe it’s not. But it’s what we need to be thinking about.
Sorry but at if anyone who could have gotten the vaccine but chose not to gets sick after the borders open is own their own. They can pay for their own bed and ventilator to make up for their stupidity and belief in half baked conspiracy theories.
Why would you want the vaccine? The way it is now, you can go shopping to Miami for the weekend, get a little test over there and come back and have a couple nice weeks in a hotel with all your meals paid.
Wonder how many folks been doing government paid quarantine more than once?
I notice Juliana is still MIA in this affair, shameful that she wasn’t in the vanguard of representation on the Brac where she allegedly cares for her constituents.
If there is collective responsibility for the government we need to see her vaccination card.
People get vaccines here, get the sick report to HSA.
HSA says nothing. People are getting really sick from the vaccine and they are not telling anyone.
Brush the community under the rug, before the HNWI coming on the island with their millions now.
9:28 YES! Same thing I am saying, they are keeping very tight lipped about members of our community who have become extremely ill after taking the vaccine. So much for transparency from this Government and other health officials.
Troll – Nothing better to do than post a reply to your earlier lie.
Troll – total rubbish
Tinfoil alert
Funny how people call you a troll when they clearly don’t understand science.
Look around us and the health of the community.
We’re in dire need of help, no vaccine is gonna save you if you spent half of your life(30 years) destroying your health in self-destructive habits.
Alden, Dr. Lee and Candidate McTaggart said goal was 75-80% of the “adult population”. We are at 42,521 of 1st dose as of Monday. Based on previous numbers in the paper, this seems to be 80% of adults (I read 31,000 of adults was 60%). But now the media seems to focus on “total population”. Has Government said this is the new goal? I never saw that stated. What is the goal and why isn’t it public? If it never changed, then we are done based on first dose!!!
goal post have always changed and will keep doing so…cos cayman has no re-opening plan.
remember when alden said all we needed was 90% of over 60’s????
The PACT government stated at their first press conference that the current goal was 70% of the population.
They need to qualify that goal. The only way that makes sense is to say 70% of eligible population….that is those 16+ years old.
Which has long since been surpassed.
Exactly!
May have escaped you – 80% of the adult population was the last government. This one wants 70% of the total population. Which is almost impossible without vaccinating children – last census stats had something like 16% of the population under 16
And that will be next – the vaccine for the 12-15 year olds. Then the hysteria will turn to the under 12 crowd – and then we will be waiting on that vaccine to be delivered. Figure the timing will be when iguana finds its way on to the menus at the restaurants.
Give me fries with my whopper and might consider it
No border opening date, no vaccine. Simple.
The ‘vaccine’ does not make you immune to Covid.
You are not immune to zillion viruses, bacterias, fungi, etc. yet you seem to be fine. Your immune system takes care of it.
Mass madness is the main concern in Cayman today. What churches teach about dying? Why suddenly people are so worried about dying of COVID?
WE KNOW THIS
It’s 95% effective preventing Covid-19. This is according to phase 3 trial data and real world data from Israel. No vaccine will make you 100% immune but its close. Rather have the vaccine than catch covid with no protection.
7:37 Exactly, if it did i would consider it but it doesn’t so I am just going to trust my immune system to do its thing.
In the meantime while you’re fighting it off you’ll transmit it to other people who may get seriously ill and die. Thanks a lot.
Selfish much?
And what if your immune system is not strong enough to fight it off, and you become the source of a new variant of the disease which you pass on to others…and then to others…and that new variant turns out to have mutated into something far more deadly. How would you like to be the sole cause of millions more deaths? Maybe tens of millions of deaths. It’s not all about you, you selfish git.
By June1 hopefully they will announce they the borders will open in July and anyone who is not vaccinated must take their chances. Keep quarantine for unvaccinated travelers but open the borders otherwise. Enough is enough!
Just offer a $100,000.00 prize draw for this Saturday. Screw the “Staycation” and vouchers. We were on a Staycation for almost a year during lockdown.
my idea was 10# $50k prizes…would have got the job done weeks ago
$100,000 is chicken feed compared to how much money the island is losing every day as a consequence of being closed to tourism.
Cayman risks a real estate sell off if it locks owners out of their properties for much longer.
Really… while so many people around the world can’t get access to any vaccine. God is watching. Have some shame some of you. And a little consideration and respect for less fortunate. Unbelievable.
In most developed countries vaccines are white readily available. In the US, kids from 12 and up are getting it. No trouble getting appointments.
Approve 12 – 16 year olds to get the vaccine! The UK authorities are dragging their feet on this because it doesn’t fit with their current vaccination plan.
Healthcare is paid for via taxation in the UK and free at point of use, so apportioned according to need. Vaccines are being given by age group, and we are currently at age 30 and above. Children have the least need for the vaccine and therefore will be vaccinated last. Why should Cayman children get free vaccines before UK children? It’s nothing to do with anyone dragging their heels, it’s because money or health insurance don’t allow you to jump the queue here.
Heather Cox Richardson:
“As of today, 50% of adult Americans are fully vaccinated against Covid-19, and on May 24th, the seven-day average of new cases was the lowest it has been at any point since last June. But those numbers are driven by the vaccinated part of the population. Among those who are unvaccinated, the rate of disease and death is estimated to be as high as it was in late January.”
Have they checked if everyone who is getting a tourism stipend has had it? Maybe if they threatened to cut that off unless they did the masses might flock in.
Also get to the large supermarkets. I know SO many workers who are struggling to get the vaccine as they need to work etc.
We have got to do our upmost best to get this done otherwise we will have failed humankind and will never be assisted again.
Please take this seriously folks. Get vaccinated.
Give us an opening date and tell the unvaccinated adults (by choice) to mask up or stay home. Simple. Time for the shoe to be on the other foot.
will keep asking the same questions:
what happens if we reach the impossible ever changing target?…cig has never said what would happen.
what happens when we don’t reach the target?
why are we denying vaccinated people freedom of travel?
is cayman trying to stay covid and virus free forever?
we have protected our at risk groups and health service and have one of the highest vaccinations rates in the world….what is cayman afraid of?
will wait for answers.
11:06 keep waiting
@11:06
Waiting right here with you for those answers. Maybe we should organize a “Waiting For The Answers” party. Hey, we could offer vaccines at the party,
If we can do 164 first doses over each of the next 15 days, that is 2,460. So that pace would absorb the 2,000 remaining first doses.
Need to average 130 a day to use up 2,000 first doses.
Bermuda in June will have 46 flights a week from multiple carriers.
After June 6th in Bermuda, fully vaccinated travelers take a PCR test upon arrival and directly head to accommodations. Get PCR results within a day, and if negative, can move about freely.
After June 6th, non-vaccinated travelers must quarantine for 14-days at a government hotel (with some exceptions).
Can argue pros and cons, but at least this is an articulated PLAN and PATH FORWARD. We hear nothing from our dear leader, Panton, and are left to speculate . The remaining vaccines will be quickly slurped up if Panton can hint at a plan.
Bermuda has never been a model to follow, especially after their surge in cases and lockdown. What a joke
Turks & Caicos has been open since last July, long before vaccinations started. Negative test before flying, no quarantine. 11pm curfew, masks indoors, 60% capacity in restaurants and bars. They have had 17 deaths total. They currently have 6 active cases, Cayman has 14. We keep being told by the fear mongers that the island will be overrun by the virus and thousands will die if the borders open. Doesn’t seem to be the case especially now that the majority of people here and everyone travelling here would be vaccinated.
Govt using fear to control the masses….still operating under March 2020 ideas instead of following current scientific findings.
Bermuda is looking pretty good at the moment. The are open, 7-day average is 1 case a day with 0 deaths.
Their recent spike was among unvaccinated and those who had not been fully vaccinated.
We need to learn from all these other countries and manage an opening here.
The current state of affairs can’t work on an extended period.
So pick a date and let’s work toward it. If their is not a viable stay-over tourism plan in place by mid-November the economic damage will last for years.
The CIG needs to develop and communicate a plan to do this.
People would give them a break if they actually said this is the plan and if we spike in cases we will lock-down again until we get back to zero community spread.
Covid-19 isn’t going away anytime soon, but in 2019 we didn’t close our borders and then institute a quarantine because seasonal flu might come in on an airplane.
Why is it that every other country in the world is looking ahead to managing Covid-19 an an endemic disease and we don’t know what the plan for Cayman is?
Cayman! Wake up, we need to get this done.
We need to restore freedom to Caymanians, the only way to do so is to get vaccinated.
We need everyone’s help to tear down the iron wall and restore freedom for all Caymanians.
The only way to do it is to open borders. Covid19 is no different today than any other virus or bacteria we live with.
Yes but today we got more nastier and disgusting people. Yall picking boogers and shaking hands and opening doors.
Why bother ? The government just demonstrated today its pointless by not allowing the return of commercial flights. You get vaccinated nothing changes. By the time cayman opens my vaccination will probably no longer be effective.
Precisely why my family and friends won’t do it. Until there is a point to taking it, no thanks.
great comment…the worst thing about caymans vaccine failure/success is that it will change nothing for people who have been vaccinated…
so what was the point?
do you think this will make people want to bother with next vaccine or future booster shots???
this is what happens when you have no plan,