By LEANDRA ROLLE
Tribune Staff Reporter
lrolle@tribunemedia.net
WITH the government hoping to have a 70 percent vaccination rate among the public by year’s end, Former Health Minister Dr Duane Sands yesterday questioned how health officials planned to reach that target given slow vaccine uptake in the country.
“The honourable member for Tall Pines, the Minister of Health and Wellness said to the public that they imagine that we will get rid of the mask mandates when we reach 70 per cent of the population inoculated against COVID-19,” the Free National Movement Chairman said during a press conference yesterday.
“The Prime Minister (Philip “Brave” Davis) then doubled down on that and said that it could be as early as in a very short time. It’s hard to understand how if the population is at 43 per cent (or) 169,000 people fully immunised and we need to get to 70 per cent and we are vaccinating 1,400 I think 1,390 people per week, how are we going to get to 70 per cent by the end of the year?”
According to the government’s latest vaccine tracker, more than 170,000 people have been fully vaccinated in The Bahamas to date, while more than 159,000 people have received their first dose.
On Tuesday, Health and Wellness Minister Dr Michael Darville told reporters that the percentage of people vaccinated in the country represented “between 54 to 56 percent.”
He also made an appeal for more people to get vaccinated, saying once the country meets its vaccination target and virus cases and hospitalisations remain low, officials “will be able to reduce or even remove the mask mandate.”
The push for more vaccinations comes amid concern about the rapidly spreading monkeypox virus, which has been deemed a global health emergency by the World Health Organisation.
Yesterday, Dr Sands said there had not been enough “helpful” information provided by government to allay public fears surrounding the virus.
“When we talk about monkey pox, there has been a shortage of information, helpful information to allay the fears and concerns of the general public,” he said.
“There has been precious little discussion about how we are going to fix the broken hospitals in Grand Bahama and in Nassau. How are we going to fix the floors in the operating room? How are we going to repair the broken-down equipment in our health facilities? How are we going to get nurses to staff beyond the critically low levels of nursing staff that we have now particularly in our ICU, emergency room, dialysis unit and other critical care areas. So, we have a health crisis, and this administration has refused to speak in any real terms about how they intend to fix it.”
Dr Darville has previously said the government is in talks with the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) for the acquisition of the monkeypox vaccines, though he could not give a date as to when the doses will arrive in country.
“We have been working from day one with our partners at the Pan American Health Organisation. We are definitely in the community. We are presently starting consultations with those in the border, customs and immigration and some of our uniformed individuals. We are presently reaching out to high-risk groups in the tourism sector and so the list goes on and on and so we’re working very closely with PAHO and we realise that it’s important for us to stay on top of it,” he said recently.
Comments
birdiestrachan 1 year, 8 months ago
Doctor Darville has a heart for the people so it will Go well with him
birdiestrachan 1 year, 8 months ago
If Dr sands and his FNM party had fixed these issues they would not still be an issue The Dr continue to insult the intelligence of the Bahamian people he thinks he is above the people
CoolCatBD 1 year, 8 months ago
Public ?
carltonr61 1 year, 8 months ago
https://www.theepochtimes.com/9-year-...">https://www.theepochtimes.com/9-year-...
PAHO is blinding the government on real world data. They talk of 70% and the word Sands uses "immunization" is an outright fib. The vaccine dies not support immunization but only help if you are immuno compromised with obesity, old age related infirmities, diabetes. PAHO at one point switched to advising Bahamians to get healthy, then within the past two weeks found 100% determination energy and finances to return us to 2020 ignorance. The vaccine is out dated for BA series of Omicron. Children to enter school in a few weeks with vaccinations in arms will get cause the old spread among the population canceling junkanoo and doctors will make millions. The money wants this covid charade to go on forever while the rest of the world has changed away from covid world order. PAHO is simply illogical and sands is playing right along with them 100% by seeming relavent. But the Bahamas sees no ending in sight as Israel, Finland, Denmark, USA, Seychelles, Iceland all reached 90+% vaccination then got re sicked. So we reach while handcuffed by PAHO to 70% vaccination then what? Bahamians who got back from vacation in Ireland, across USA, the Mediterranean, UK are ashamed that only in the Bahamas masks is more than ceremonial photo oops. The Wirld Bank has warned us about threatening education for ransom covid vaccine that we will miss three years of education and social upheavals far into the future and PAHO has changed its clothes.
carltonr61 1 year, 8 months ago
We need this freedom of information Act passed. Obviously decision makers are executing orders in the interest of medical pharma monetized shares. A keeping threat in linking hotel workers to monkey pox vaccine assumes that the virus caused through anus friction. Then child monkey pox vaccine?
carltonr61 1 year, 8 months ago
https://www.theepochtimes.com/the-afr...">https://www.theepochtimes.com/the-afr...
carltonr61 1 year, 8 months ago
Vaccinations are being centered and framed around WHO funders politics and economics now they have to invent then invest in ways to make global covid support the means that fits the ends. Covid international deaths and illness support the abolition of all emergency orders and world pandemic status. Even the global press is tired of inventing fear pornography excitement. Enshrined within government policy on education and employment while totally absent existent dangers of covid is, 'get vaccinated.' The framed policy is driving vaccinations not risk of illness. Now that we know up to 6 consecutive vaccinations mildly nicknamed boosters persons especially then fall ill to covid, something must be done to workers forced to take the vaccine and those that lost jobs for refusing failed vaccination, as even 70% country by country national vaccinations failed 100% at providing a bit of national immunity. Ask Israel, Denmark, Iceland, Seychelles, England, France, Australia or Germany. So why then, with results kicking us with steel toed shoes up our heads are we being forced PAHO policy to continue so called vaccinations for a virus that mutates every fifth month, then they drive this vicious fear pirn named unknown variant or variant of suspicion. What is unknown is what variant persons quad then penta vaccinated is producing to be keeping them sick and isolated.
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