Flying in the face of reality

EDITOR: It is amazing how in the face of established facts and reality all over the globe, there are still persons either bent on misleading others for their own personal or political reasons or those who unfortunately allow themselves to be so misled. Under the banner of “personal freedom” campaigns have been launched, including one here in SVG, protesting against mild measures to allow our people to enjoy COLLECTIVE FREEDOM through public health and safety.

A brief look at what is happening in the world where the COVID pandemic is concerned should be enough to demonstrate why the personal interests or feelings of any individual cannot be placed before the collective health of any society. There is a clear resurgence of the disease especially with the new strains, led by the infamous delta, now undermining the work of the very successful vaccination programmes. We don’t even have to go abroad, statistics from right here in the Caribbean demonstrate our plight. Even Cuba, with its own home-made, internationally- sought vaccines is struggling. Over the last three months, the average of positive cases per day and dead in the last three months reads as follows: June- 1687 positive and 11 dead; July 6464 positive and 50 dead; August, up to 28th- 8789 positive and 82 dead. Cuba has a population of 11 million and aims to vaccinate its entire population, including children by year end.

Lets go no further than our neighbour St Lucia with NEW COVID cases totalling 2440 in August so far, or we can look at Barbados worrying about its figure going up to 500 cases per day. Last week, these frightening figures emerged from Jamaica: Wednesday- 463 new cases; Thursday 606; Friday 835; Saturday 929.

Must we bury our heads in the sand or take the animal medicine prescribed by criminals?

Finally, for those who wickedly lead campaigns against vaccination, these are hard facts on persons tested positive and hospitalized around the region: 95 per cent of such hospitalized cases in Dominica were persons not vaccinated; in St Lucia the figure was 98.4 per cent; at the UWI hospital in Jamaica 97 per cent; Bahamas 98 per cent unvaccinated; in Antigua 17 of the 20 persons in the ICUs were unvaccinated; In Barbados 85 per cent of the hospitalized received no vaccines while in Guadeloupe and Martinique, the situation is described as “all hell breaking loose”.

What should we do here,follow those led by ignorance and political stupidity or act to protect the nation? The best way to protect personal freedom is to STAY SAFE and VACCINATE!

FOLLOW THE SCIENCE, NOT THE IGNORANCE.

Renwick Rose