The family that ‘vaxxes’ together ...
Young parents endure long wait to get protection from COVID
Cradling their two- week- old son, Simone Scott-Harris and her husband, Dwayne Harris, yesterday made the trek to the National Arena in Kingston to get their COVID-19 jabs.
Despite a massive crowd turning up to get their shots as part of a vaccination blitz, the Harris’s waited patiently for more than two hours to get vaccinated. They reasoned that the time spent waiting for the jabs is a small price to pay for the protection they will gain from being vaccinated against COVID-19.
“We have been hearing the advertisements for quite some time and my family and I just decided that we should make the decision to get vaccinated. What cemented it for me is someone who had baby two days after me, who got her shot and was Okay, so that reassured me to come and take the Pfizer vaccine,” Scott-Harris said.
The Ministry of Health and Wellness last week added pregnant and breastfeeding mothers to categories of persons eligible to get the jab. As is the case with children, age 15 years and older, as well as children 12 years and older who have comorbid conditions, they have been getting the Pfizer vaccine. Jamaica is targeting inoculating 65 per cent of the population by March next year and aims to vaccinate 700,000 people by September. Three vaccines that have been approved by the World Health Organisation for use in the fight against COVID-19 are currently in the island. These are the Pfizer, AstraZeneca and single dose Johnson & Johnson shots. However, the Government has been faced with an uphill task of convincing Jamaicans to get vaccinated. Harris said that she has done sufficient research and has come to the view that the vaccines are not only safe but are necessary.
She said she is extremely concerned about the rise in the number of COVID-19 cases and urged everyone to be militant in fighting the virus.
“If you care about your family members then it is something you should consider doing. It is good to do your research yourself and arm yourself with the necessary knowledge about how to protect yourselves as well as your loved ones,” the young mother said.
FIRST SHOT
In addition to taking her husband with her to the vaccination site yesterday, Harris also brought out her parents, Pauline and Earl Scott. They got their first shot of the Pfizer vaccine. Her father said that they have spent three days searching for a vaccination site, and had came close to giving up.
“We went to Merl Grove and we saw 10 million people and we go St Georges College and see a next 10 million people. We went to Good Samaritan Inn and it was closed. We were about to give up and then we heard that the Arena was going to be opened today,” he said.
His wife, who said she is terrified of needles, was also determined to get her shot.
“I braved up and got my injection today because I want to protect myself and family, and I want things to normalise,” she said.
Jamaica on Monday recorded 752 new COVID-19 cases from 1,751 samples tested, increasing total confirmed cases to 63,464 with 13,820 cases being active. The Ministry of Health and Wellness also confirmed the deaths of 15 more persons from COVID-19, pushing the country’s death tally to 1,417.