Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley on Tuesday received the first dose of the Chinese-made Sinopharm vaccine, nearly four months after he had tested for the coronavirus (COVID-19).
Rowley received the jab at the Diego Martin Health Centre, accompanied by the Chief Medical officer, Dr. Roshan Parasram.
“This is unusual times, I never expected when we set about to build this facility that it would be used in a pandemic and that I would be here being vaccinated,” said Rowley, who had contracted the virus in April.
“Covid-19 is with us we have to live with it, but we are fighting it,” Rowley said, as he urged citizens to ensure that they get the vaccination as the health authorities move towards curbing the spread of the virus that has so far killed 941 people and infected 34, 822 others.
“The one thing that we know by the evidence that we have both here and around the world is that this virus is being suppressed by the vaccination program. A number of vaccines have been approved for use and reports are that populations that are vaccinated are protected in so far as people are responding better to any infection.
‘It is reducing the need for hospitalization, it is reducing the strength of the illness on you and it is virtually eliminating death,” Rowley said, adding that ‘those benefits from the vaccines are worth having the population vaccinated”.
“We are seeing solid proof that unvaccinated populations are still being ravaged by the virus,” he said, noting that Trinidad had received an estimated 800,000 doses of the vaccine from China on Tuesday.
“So for the next few weeks, we are going to have as many vaccines as we require to vaccinate persons who should come forward. It is a volunteer program, but that does not mean because it is voluntary, you will decide that nobody is pushing me, so I would not go and get vaccinated.
“Yes, the virus is pushing you…vaccines are available, take the vaccine that is offered to you, get vaccinated as quickly as possible, get your second shot when it is due and feel confident that you will be better able to respond in the event that you are infected because the second fact is the virus is out there and it only requires access to some person to keep going,” Rowley added.
CMC
