Take The Jab

Even as the pace of vaccination picks up momentum in Trinidad and Tobago, COVID-19 infections are increasing with 150+ new infections reported on average each day. This is a 96% peak of infections with the highest daily average reported on May 8th (402 positive cases). As of Sunday May 9th, the Ministry of Health says there have been 13,555 infections (March 12th 2020 to Present) and 211 coronavirus-related deaths reported in the country since the pandemic began.

Vaccination

Vaccine hesitancy is higher among people in deprived areas, however that has been slowly changing with more education and awareness. Trinidad and Tobago has administered at least 60,732 doses of COVID vaccines so far. Assuming every person needs 2 doses, that is enough to have vaccinated about 2.2% of the country’s population. During the last week, Trinidad and Tobago averaged about 1,757 doses administered per day. At this rate, it will take a further 159 days to administer enough doses for another 10% of the population.

Our Data at Media InSite shows the main conversation in the Caribbean surrounds Pfizer and AstraZeneca. As more vaccines are nearing approval around the world and global immunization campaign remains afoot, it must be noted that Sinopharm increased its mentions on digital media by 108%. Perhaps the recent clarification on Sinopharm by the Minister of Health Terrence Deyalsingh may have spiked the conversation. Sinopharm is the most recent vaccine to get Emergency Use Listing (EUL) procedure approval by the World Health Organization on May 7th 2021.

Lockdown

As COVID-19 infections began to be reported around the world, many countries responded by shutting down places like schools, workplaces and international borders in order to contain the spread of the virus, Trinidad and Tobago was no exception. Jamaica has also banned travel from Trinidad and Tobago due to the increase in the P1 (Brazilian variant) of the virus. While the battle against COVID-19 continues, additional challenges including our healthcare system has also risen, adding salt to injury. Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley recently stated that the healthcare system is in danger of being overrun due to the number of COVID-19 cases. Simply put, more infections mean more beds and PPE. Health officials warn the healthcare system could be overwhelmed in 10 days if the trend continues.

With this in mind, Dr Rowley has said that under the new restrictions, only businesses deemed essential services such as supermarkets, pharmacies and financial services would remain open, for reduced hours, in addition to the key energy and manufacturing sectors. The government shut down shopping malls, cinemas, theaters, restaurants, bars, places of worship, beauty salons and fitness centers last week in a bid to prevent the spread of the virus. Other non-essential retail and food businesses such as street-food vendors were closed from midnight until May 23rd, 2021 in an attempt to curb the spread of the virus.

Take The Jab

The COVID-19 vaccination endeavor is one of the biggest in history and it is needed to reduce infections. It is critical for our country to ensure there is a proper rollout of the vaccines to ensure Trinidad and Tobago stays one step ahead in the global fight against COVID-19. This may be the only jab you will hear about these days. Who knows when the most anticipated Show on Earth (Carnival) will be back on the calendar and the Jab-Jabs will be out in their glory.