LEFT: Public health nurse Ruth Bastian receives the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine on Sunday – Photo: Racardo Thomas. RIGHT: Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis receives the vaccine – Photo: BIS
RUTH Bastian, a public health nurse since 1975, was the first person in the country to receive the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine on Sunday morning.
Dr Merceline Dahl-Regis, chairperson of the National COVID-19 Vaccine Consultative Committee (NCVCC), was the second person to receive the vaccine and Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis also received it on Sunday.
Nurse Bastian told reporters moments after receiving the first dose of the injection that she was “feeling fine,” and urged the public to rely on only reputable information when making a decision about getting the vaccine.
After getting the first shot at Loyola Hall on Gladstone Road, she was observed 15 minutes by a nurse and doctor.
“I would say that the vaccine is safe,” Nurse Bastian said. “I would also say that persons may be concerned about the origin of the vaccine. The company where we received this vaccine from produces over 80 percent of the vaccines worldwide, so I am not worried about the manufacturing.
“I encourage people to read and get your information from reputable sources to make sure that you are getting reliable information.”
Comments
TalRussell 3 years, 1 month ago
Forty-six years as a public health nurse, has to have conferred the comrade sister with the status as a sovereign of the realm's PopoulacesPurse? Yep?
JokeyJack 3 years, 1 month ago
LOL. Can't find the words...sorry.
ohdrap4 3 years, 1 month ago
I am disturbed by this peer pressure method to persuade others to take a vaccine. Reminds me of the time some Rev Moon recruiters tried to chat me up as a teenager.
So I was vaccinated against this method long ago.
But this decision to give a single shot, hoping a next shipment comes in does not add up. It might be delayed causing people to have to take a 3rd dose, or the next batch might be defective.
Anyway, I am way down the line to receive one anyways.
Bobsyeruncle 3 years, 1 month ago
Congratulations, Nurse Ruth.
TalRussell 3 years, 1 month ago
Quite possible if after having worked 46 years for the government, and if you've rolled over your vacation time, the government according to the screwed up matrix of unused years vacation time some over at the constabulary and defense seems have snagged, I'm calculating you'd easily be a candidate for entitlement of 9.5 years of PopoulacesPurse's, paid vacation time. Yep?**
John 3 years, 1 month ago
So you will not be able to ‘buy or sell’ unless you receive the vaccine? And how far is the world from getting back to even a ‘new normal’ after this pandemic passes? Many countries, like The Bahamas are incurring wider deficits and accumulating deeper national debts. Some will not be able to pay these debts without some forgiveness or external assistance. Over 100 million people will be added to those already living below the poverty line. Not only will many of these people be able to help with their country’s tax burden, but many will be taxing their country’s social assistance programs for some time. And will the price of gasoline see record highs? Gas is already almost $5 a gallon even though there’s a decreased demand for it, due to some countries being at least partially lockdown due to Corona. So why is the cost of gas increasing when there is lesser demand for it? The price of oil went from $50 to around $69 a barrel. But the last time gas was around $5 a gallon, oil was $140 a barrel. But the petroleum dealers are now claiming the cost of refining oil and distributing oil products, like gas has increased. So what happens if oil goes over $100 a barrel? Will gas prices go above $10 and as high as $15 or even $19 a gallon? And will everything else, including electricity and food, shipping and travel increase? Many power and utilities companies are already moving to solar and wind power. And the trend for individuals to produce their own sell it back to utility companies is increasing. This can lead to a lot of petroleum assets being stranded and , despite record prices, some petroleum companies going bankrupt. And during the pandemic year, many countries experienced increases in non corona related deaths. Some countries recorded record death rates. And because of being saddled with new debt or having their quality of living changed drastically, it is expected that this will also drive up the numbers of persons dying prematurely over the next few years. The after effects of Corona cannot be cured with just a vaccine.
tribanon 3 years, 1 month ago
You should not be complaining about rapidly rising gasoline prices if you supported a Biden presidency. The average price of a gallon of gasoline in the US has already increased nearly 50% since Biden's November 6 presidential election win and is expected to climb to more than $5 per gallon this coming summer. An average US price per gallon of more than $5 would translate to a price over $7 per gallon at the pumps in New Providence. All Bahamians should brace themselves for this looming price shock.
milesair 3 years, 1 month ago
It's called supply and demand Capitalism. even you should know that! As demand goes back up and things return to normal (people take vacations and more passengers are flying so the price of gas rises! This would have happened even if Trump had won which I am sure glad that he didn't! No conspiracy stuff here, just supply and demand!
tribanon 3 years, 1 month ago
You're professing your ignorance of the success of Trump's energy independence policy long before the Communist China Virus came along. Unfortunately that most successful energy policy was immediately 'undone' on day one of Biden's presidency.
tribanon 3 years, 1 month ago
I guess the big question of the day will be:
Did Minnis get jabbed with one of the vaccines approved by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for emergency use in the US, or did he decide to roll the dice for political reasons and get the AstraZeneca jab?
A growing number of European countries have suspended the use of the AstaZeneca vaccine due to concerns about life threatening blood clots being a possible harmful side-effect. I guess we now know why the AstraZeneca vaccine has yet to be approved by the FDA for emergency use in the US.
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