The Tribune

By Malcolm Strachan

DESPITE a third tranche of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine landing on our shores last week, the country is still far behind in the race to increase vaccination uptake and fend off this third surge of COVID-19.

In July, The Bahamas experienced an alarming uptick of 2,000 cases of the coronavirus –13 percent of the cases that have been confirmed in the 16 months we’ve been battling the virus.

Meanwhile, we are not doing ourselves any favours. Mixed messaging on relaxing measures for vaccinated citizens as an incentive, vaccination hesitancy, delays in the arrival of doses and carelessness by both vaccinated and unvaccinated Bahamians have created a Molotov cocktail set to explode.

Although there hasn’t been confirmation that the Delta variant is responsible for the current intensity with which COVID-19 is ravaging our communities, the Ministry of Health has continued to allude to its likelihood given the rapid spread and increased fatalities left in its wake around the world. Speaking to the media last week, Chief Medical Officer Dr Pearl McMillan commented on the health ministry’s hunch that the Delta variant is responsible for our recent struggles.

She said: “I think that’s a possibility in that the way the virus is being spread, in particular with the Delta variant. There is a concern that the vaccinated can potentially still spread it,” responding to the recent announcements by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that vaccinated individuals are just as likely to spread the variant as the unvaccinated.

“That’s why we continue to make the recommendation to keep your mask on. You would see that they’re moving toward saying that wearing your mask even after you’re vaccinated is the best way to go.

“This thing continues to evolve and as it evolves, we have to be mindful that certainly the public health measures that carry out – mask-wearing, sanitisation – all of those things must continue as we move toward getting vaccines and also increasing our capacity to get people to take the vaccine.

“You don’t just drop one because you have the other. I think that’s the bottom line. We have to be vigilant if we’re going to be able to continue this long haul. It’s not a sprint. COVID is with us and the better we protect ourselves – individually and collectively – the better we will get through this whole cycling.”

She ended with saying: “Right now, we are in problems with our capacity, so I urge people: we’re getting vaccines, get vaccinated. But please do not drop all of your public health measures that we have been saying that you should continue to carry out.”

The challenge, however, is that the loudest voices are coming from our politicians. Moreover, there is a pervasive sense that guidance is being given by politicians to the health officials, not the other way around. Furthermore, as much as they continue to say they are following guidance from health officials, Dr McMillan’s statements seem disjointed – with a sense of there still being a focus on election season.

Using societal freedoms as an incentive for individuals to get vaccinated, particularly at a time when it didn’t make sense strategically – when vaccines were limited – only served to increase carelessness among the unvaccinated. Likewise, without a policy identifying unvaccinated citizens from those that have taken the jab, the government essentially shot itself in the foot.

Thankfully, after paying our debt to Antigua and Barbuda, we have an additional 28,600 shots that can be distributed to willing Bahamians. Barry Rassin, from the National Vaccine Consultative Committee, touted last week’s outstanding demand amid a surge in appointment bookings, to which we certainly hope is more than public relations.

Politics and poor public relations have severely hampered our efforts in increasing vaccination uptake. Without a doubt, as a citizenry, we have failed in the area of public education, which has only led to further hesitancy.

As citizens remain immovable on their stance about the vaccines, only to be made believers if they or someone they’re close to loses someone they love, we are in the middle of a high stakes game of life and death.

In the neighbouring US, the gridlock between the vaccinated population and anti-vaxxers is leading to what some are referring to as “Jim Crow-esque” vaccination mandates. New York Mayor Bill De Blasio, with the support of US President Joe Biden, announced the new measures to stem the spread of the Delta variant as New York City became the first US city to require proof of vaccination for indoor dining, gyms and movie theatres. Amid sharp backlash, opponents of these measures claim such restrictions will likely disadvantage people of colour who come from under-vaccinated communities.

Similarly, France, Greece and Italy have all instituted similar mandates, which have in some instances resulted in violent protests from citizens decrying the attack against the sovereign rights to their bodies – including in St Vincent and the Grenadines, where Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves was hit by a stone thrown during a protest against plans for mandatory vaccination there.

Certainly, there is a point to be made. But to what extent will the sovereign right to one’s body endanger the lives of others? There is no easy solution here and forcing people to take a vaccine doesn’t do much to increase trust.

While it can be understood that various governments making these calls are desperate to end the pandemic, what cannot be overlooked is that the work must be done through education to get the public to buy in.

And as we look at how all this creates implications for us here at home, up until now, our government has consistently indicated the Bahamian people have a right to choose whether or not they will take the vaccine. But with the appropriate pressure applied, there’s no telling if that, too, will change.

There’s an obvious concern following the early success of the vaccinations only to see the Delta variant laying waste to the hard work and billions of dollars spent to get here. The CDC’s revelation that both the vaccinated and unvaccinated can spread the variant is one to watch, particularly as tourism rebounds.

A predominantly unvaccinated destination has a far bigger bullseye on it than one that can boast the safety of tourists.

While we’ve been able to boast an uptick in tourist arrivals, there are no assurances as we move into the fall and winter months when sicknesses are more prevalent, and we await high season in tourism.

The US, our primary tourism source market, is currently dealing on the state level with how they can increase vaccinations. At which point does it become a concern they may begin to look externally to enforce mandates that their citizens cannot travel to certain jurisdictions with low vaccination rates?

And more importantly, how will that impact our economy and the livelihoods of Bahamians beginning to get their lives back on track?

We largely had hoped the pandemic would be over by now. But if it’s one thing that we know now, it is that we don’t know much as it pertains to the moving target that is COVID-19.