Booster shots begin for most vulnerable

| 21/09/2021 | 48 Comments

(CNS): The Health Services Authority has begun a COVID-19 “soft start” booster shot vaccination programme by inviting the most vulnerable members of the community who are severely at risk and completed the double-dose course of the Pfizer vaccine more than six months ago to get this third jab. Chief Medical Officer Dr John Lee said Tuesday that the next group who will be invited for this third shot will be people aged over 50 or those who are clinically compromised in some way. Officials confirmed that this very first small group of people would be contacted by the HSA to organise the shot.

The UK approved the use of boosters last week and 11,000 more vaccines are arriving from London next week, so the government made the decision to begin this third dose programme in order to maintain protection levels for the more vulnerable people in the community. Governor Martyn Roper said that more boosters will be sent as we need them to enable everyone over 50 and those who are immune compromised to get the third shot.

There is still considerable debate among the scientific community about the need for these boosters and there are ethical questions about getting vaccines to countries crying out for enough supplies for even a first shot before giving those in the wealthiest countries a third. But the government here is receiving the supplies for free from the UK, which is keen to ensure the overseas territories are not neglected.

Government is hoping the boosters will provide additional protection and confidence as it deliberates over its stalled border reopening plan, which is still heavily dependent on being able to protect everyone in Cayman from the most serious health risk posed by COVID-19.

See the vaccine schedule on the HSA website here.

For more information on vaccines contact the HSA Communications team at
communications@hsa.ky

See here for more information on securely verifiable vaccination records.


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Category: Health, Medical Health

Comments (48)

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  1. The cynic says:

    I’d like to ask one question. Who benefits from the extended restricted border, sending more and more businesses into bankruptcy, causing them to be bought out for next to nothing by whom and for what purpose. Think about it.

    • Anonymous says:

      “Opening the borders” during a fourth wave (that nobody is vaccinated against), would close all of our non-essential businesses almost immediately, and overload our limited hospital capacity. There is no credible business argument to “opening the borders”, as misplaced optimists are learning. It’s naive to think there’d be a different outcome, even with comparably high vaccinations which are waning.

  2. Anonymous says:

    I am against covid jabs, yet I understand those who are over 50, already have health issues, for they might be less concerned with long term consequences. They are approaching inevitable and Short term gain such as reduced risk of mortality from covid does make sense.

    Those who still have 40-70 years to live is another matter. For this group long term consequences could be devastating. Developing chronic neurological conditions for example, or fertility issues etc.

    That is why measure twice cut once approach must be followed. If it can’t be undone, isn’t it better to wait?

    • Anonymous says:

      beats an early death

      • Anonymous says:

        What if your quality of life and ability to provide for yourself, and family, declines as a result of taking the jabs?

        • Anonymous says:

          Exactly! I am not sure how we become beings who outsource thinking.

          Just a decade ago intellectual curiosity and a questionable mind were valuable traits. Today, people have become parrots simple repeating what someone had said.

          Hardly anyone, even inside medical communities knows what pharmacogenomics and pharmacikinetics are, let alone heard of Paradoxical reaction/effects of common drugs. The latter, by the way, is out of the FDA scope when it comes to a medication approval, which means they are concerned with adverse effects of the medicine, but not with its Paradoxical reaction (opposite to what would usually be expected).

          All of the above applies to the vaccines and mRNA concoctions as well. For some it works as intended. For others, due to genetics (see pharmacogenomics and pharmacokinetics) it causes all kind of known and yet unknown reactions including sudden deaths.

          Paradoxical response to a vaccine is not something unheard of either, plenty of information in medical journals.

          So death is the least concern for the younger population, living with unexpected consequences while providing for a family or wanting to start a family is another matter.

    • Anonymous says:

      In fairness, these are sentiments that were shared by many initially, circa Dec 1999, but were quickly dispelled as health and safety data rapidly accumulated over Billions of dose administrations. The accumulated data set shows that the Pfizer vaccine is now safer than most birth control pills, which is why the FDA fully-approved the vaccine.

      Whereas, the danger posed by not being vaccinated is acute and irreversible as you say. Not just death, but lung capacity scarring, a multitude of lifetime health complications, etc. So far there are 4,709,405 and counting that wished too late that they had access to a vaccine.

    • Anonymous says:

      And you’re getting your “facts” where? Do you have proof of chronic neurological conditions or fertility issues? If so, please share.

  3. Anonymous says:

    The whole island could get that booster and we’ll still be stuck in limbo because Wayne and his crew won’t do the right damn thing by following science not fear.

  4. Anonymous says:

    I will get the booster when my group is permitted. In the meantime, may i please ask…

    There was mention that a law would be passed that no new work permits would be issued to the unvaccinated, or renewals granted. Did this go out the window?

    • Anonymous says:

      Wondering the same thing. Panton mentioned this in August and said draft legislation would be out in a couple weeks.

      At least we know that from November 1st, any non-US resident passing through the US will be required to be vaccinated.

      Mandating vax for work permit holders is low hanging fruit and we should just get it done. It is not the work permit holders country, so they should be required to get vaxxed so as to lessen the burden on Cayman’s healthcare system.

    • Anonymous says:

      soon come….maybe.

    • Anonymous says:

      Mandatory vaccination seems to be a coherent argument to many, but the thing is, being vaccinated against COVID from a year and a half ago is a bit like wearing half a condom. I don’t know how businesses or governments can seriously mandate people wear half a rubber, without somebody eventually challenging that thinking against reality. That changes, of course, once the VOC-specific mRNA cocktails re-do their phase 2’s with larger sample groups, and hopefully get an EUA from FDA in months ahead.

  5. Anonymous says:

    While the internet has allowed more people more access to more information than ever before, it has also given them the illusion of knowledge when in fact they are drowning in data and cherry-picking what they choose to read. Given an inexhaustible buffet of facts, rumors, lies, serious analysis, crackpot speculation and outright propaganda to browse online, it becomes easy for one to succumb to “confirmation bias” — the tendency “to look for information that only confirms what we believe, to accept facts that only strengthen our preferred explanations, and to dismiss data that challenge what we accept as truth.”

  6. Anonymous says:

    Nice to see this proactive and instep approach. Regardless of our belief on whether to vaccinate or not, ever effort should (and is) be made to facilitate having vaccine stocks for those that desire to take it. Kudos to the CI GOV for making his happen. For those not interested in vaccines … crack on as is.

  7. Anonymous says:

    something strange about this ‘plan’.
    why is thier no official roll-out plan?
    what about real certifiable digital vaccine passports?…
    just seems like another loop in our never ending cycle of vaccines…. and remaining closed to the world.
    i’m a vaccine beliver but alot of people will have lost confidence in the system after the last 9 months of shifting goal posts and targets from cig that got us absolultly nowhere.

  8. Anon says:

    Apparently, two doses wasn’t working. The virus was still taking lives. So, they went onto a third dose they call the booster. In Israel they are doing four jabs now. But strangely, according to one study, those who are unvaccinated are fighting the virus way better than those with two doses.

    CNS: CDC study shows unvaccinated people are 29 times more likely to be hospitalized with Covid
    The new study also found that unvaccinated people were nearly five times more likely to be infected with Covid than vaccinated people.
    The data is in line with comments from federal and state health officials, who have been saying for weeks that millions of unvaccinated Americans have been putting themselves at serious risk.

    • Anonymous says:

      Anon. Why don’t you include a link to the Israeli study you reference? Or at least cite some of its proven findings that lead you to believe what they claim. Otherwise you are just parroting unfounded “rumor”.

    • Anonymous says:

      You might be interested to know that some people with underlying conditions will not develop enough antibodies even when fully vaxxed.

      • Anonymous says:

        This applies primarily to those that require treatments with steroids or other immune suppressing drugs. Those persons should know they need to be extra careful anyway.

    • Anonymous says:

      Federal? Inthe USA…

      Tick on and read what some other places are doing. For instance:

      Israel is one of the highest vaxxed in the world. Sweden who has not gone into a lockdown and claimed to be one of the most dangerous places in the world right now due to their approach is not allowing people from Israel in, at all.

      Kinda makes you think…

      CNS: The full story is here – Portugal, Sweden slap COVID entry ban on Israelis, including those vaccinated

  9. Anonymous says:

    Where is the Transparency? HSA needs to publish the selection criteria.

  10. Get vaccinated! says:

    Get used to it. COVID shot like an annual flu shot might be the way we live going forward. Operative word is “live”. So why all the fuss? Many people living with many illnesses take daily, weekly, monthly or annual medication. And those are for illnesses we understand. COVID is new and we all learning about it. Why all the fuss?

    • Anonymous says:

      Every pandemic in history has eventually fizzled out, and this one will too. Looking back in history, before modern air travel, the worst ones lasted 5-6 yrs. Eventually, everybody that’s going to get it, has either, (a) survived, (b) has died, or (c) has some kind of immunity. Then we move on to worry about the next one.

  11. Anonymous says:

    Give everyone a booster and open up. We are an embarrassment globally now. Let’s try and stop being such a joke. The world is laughing at us.

  12. Anonymous says:

    What?…Booster? I thought the jab worked? What’s next a Covid Pill you will have to take daily from Pfizer?

  13. Anonymous says:

    Man there is a lot of hope going on in this article. How does hope serve as a basis for taking a vaccine over data?

    What the hell is going on?

  14. Dave M says:

    Hello

    Are the boosters the same dosage as the earlier shots?

  15. Will says:

    Im 59, physically fit but hopefully can receive a third booster soon

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