GREAT BAY, Sint Maarten (DCOMM) – On Monday March 1st, the 1000th vaccine was administered at the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labour (Ministry VSA) Collective Prevention Service (CPS) offices on the very first day of opening up for the administering of vaccines.
The number was brought up to over 900 vaccinations carried out collectively by the SintMaarten Medical Center (SMMC) and the White and Yellow Cross Care Foundation (WYCCF) last week.
Fittingly, Mederica Marshall-Marlin, who is a retired community worker, was the happy recipient of the 1000th vaccine said: “I’m happy to receive the vaccine because it will help my body to protect me against COVID-19 virus, and I would like to encourage everyone on SintMaarten to come out and get vaccinated too!’’
CPS is currently vaccinating the second priority risk group, consisting of persons 60 years and older. The total amount of registrations is gradually increasing and has passed the 5000mark on Monday.
However, the number of registered people 60 years and older are still low, which is unfortunate because this group is most at risk of the severe side effects from the COVID-19 disease.
More persons of this priority risk group areencouraged to register themselves because the Pfizer vaccine is especially effective within this age group. A low number of registrations might affect the next supply of vaccines coming from the Netherlands, where they are experiencing a severe scarcity of vaccines.
The Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine has also shown to be effective against the British COVID-19 strain, from which we know that it has already been found on island. This variant has caused a sudden peak rise in active cases and hospitalizations in for example Aruba. So even though our current active cases are relatively low, we have to remain cautious.
The Vaccination Management Team (VMT), therefore, encourages everyone (and especially if you are 60 years and older), to register to receive the vaccine. If you are under 60 but have a family member or friend who is above 60, please offer to help them with their registration if needed. You can also call CPS or email: vaccination@sintmaartengov.org
The online registration form is currently available in Spanish and Creole and can be found via the following link: https://forms.sintmaartengov.org/form.aspx?v=OGtn05kNmb .
For the paper-based “COVID Vaccine Registration Form,” this can be picked up at several locations, including CPS at the Vineyard Office Park Building, the Division of Labor Affairs at the Simpson Bay Public Service Center in Simpson Bay, Doctors’ offices, the Government Administration Building, and select pharmacies.
St. Maarten protected together.
PHOTO CUTLINE: CPS Vaccination Team and the 1000th recipient of the COVID-19 vaccine(center).
