Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis speaking in the House of Assembly. File Photo: Donavan McIntosh/Tribune staff
By RASHAD ROLLE
Tribune Senior Reporter
rrolle@tribunemedia.net
THE race to vaccinate Bahamians and curb the spread of COVID-19 will gain a huge boost today when 128,700 doses of the Pfizer vaccine arrive in the country through a donation by the government of the United States, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis announced yesterday.
This will be the first tranche of 397,000 Pfizer vaccine doses the US government will donate to this country.
The Bahamas will receive around half of 837k vaccines the United States is donating to Caribbean countries, according to international reports.
Three hundred and five thousand doses are planned for Trinidad and Tobago, 70,200 for Barbados, 35,100 for St Vincent and the Grenadines, 17,550 for Antigua and 11,700 for St Kitts and Nevis.
The vaccine news comes as residents appear to show a greater appetite to receive the jab amid escalating hospitalisation and death rates and fears the Delta variant is spreading in the country.
“With regard to vaccines, we are nearing the full capacity to bring much of the emergency period of the COVID-19 pandemic to an end,” Dr Minnis said.
He noted the Pfizer vaccine will be available to 12-17 year olds with the consent of their parents and guardians.
Dr Minnis said 1,689 COVID-19 Oxford-AstraZeneca doses were administered on Tuesday, 73 percent of which were first doses. He said there are over 7,500 vaccine appointments scheduled this week in New Providence and Grand Bahama.
“If you were to drive by the vaccine centres, you would note that the centres and Bahamians are reporting in droves,” he said. “I want to reassure and reconfirm to the Bahamian populace that we will have sufficient vaccines for each and every individual so that they can be protected.”
Dr Minnis encouraged people to help as volunteers with the vaccination process. He said with additional volunteers, the country could start administering as much as 3,000 vaccine doses per day.
“If we achieve that, of which I am certain we will, we will see that the hospitalisation should plateau and commence coming down,” he said.
“At this particular moment, your country needs you. Our team distributing and delivering the jabs and assisting are mostly volunteers; they have been working extremely hard during the last seven months. I must congratulate them but if we are as a nation to succeed as quickly as possible, we need more volunteers. I ask more Bahamians to volunteer so they can do their part in assisting to eradicate this pandemic we are facing and to aid our fellow Bahamians. I send a notice out to various lodges and other organisations to please volunteer.”
Dr Minnis also announced changes to restrictions for Bimini in view of the improving COVID-19 situation there. He said with immediate effect the curfew on the island will be changed from 7pm to 5am to 9pm to 5am, bringing it in line with New Providence and Grand Bahama.
On Monday, Health Minister Renward Wells said 40,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will arrive in the country by the end of August.
Comments
TalRussell 3 years, 3 months ago
A new Mayo Clinic study looked at the effectiveness of mRNA vaccines between January and July. The study found Pfizer effectiveness dropped to 42% when Delta became the dominant strain — Both vaccines had greater than 85% effectiveness against popoulaces hospitalization and ICU admission. — Vaccinated popoulaces saw zero deaths in the study — yes?
ScubaSteve 3 years, 3 months ago
42% is still better than 0% or no protection.
TalRussell 3 years, 3 months ago
I think I heightened vaccines' benefits — yes?
bearbull40 3 years, 3 months ago
The 42% is correct and it was due to only leaving 4 weeks between first and second jabs in the US. A third booster jab will now be necessary. Nice little earner for the drugs companies. Israel has the same problem. Those countries, like the UK, that had a gap of 12 weeks, which was later reduced to 8 weeks, still have still effectiveness in the low 80% range. Fortunately in the B the gap was at least 8 weeks. I watch this daily update and it is packed with useful information. Dr. Campbell did a video about a month ago on this very topic. https://www.youtube.com/c/Campbellteach…
whogothere 3 years, 3 months ago
It is useless for the purposes of bringing and end to the pandemic and/or providing long term immunity to the recipient of vaccines. Efficacy level of 90+ plus inoculation rate 70% to reach HIT, if efficacy rate drops then you need to inoculate a greater percentage of the population. Transmission is still a huge factor; if virus can replicate in spite vaccination then the chances of variance increases which ultimately makes matters worse down the road. The vaccine seems to 'act' more as a therapeutic given it's failure to actually immunise recipients, which is great in terms protecting those that are vulnerable as chances of death are high. But for young folks the benefits are marginal particularly given the 'term' of protection is unknown and potential side effects of additional boosters are also unknown.
tribanon 3 years, 3 months ago
The big questions of course are:
Will the manufacture and/or expiry date have been removed from these 'donated' vaccine dose bottles?
AND
If not removed, will health officials let you see the manufacture and/or expiry date label on your vaccine dose bottle from which you yourself actually witness the vaccine being withdrawn for your jab?
ForeverDreamer 3 years, 3 months ago
Are you claiming you require this for any IV, prior vaccine shots, Mantoux test, etc? Or are you implying there is something to suspect about these public donation of vaccines?
tribanon 3 years, 3 months ago
The days of being blindly trustful of public health officials are clearly behind us. Too many senior officials within the public healthcare sector have allowed themselves to become much too politicized and beholden to politicians and corporations with motives that do not put your health and well-being at the top of their list of priorities. And that seems to be the case in way too many other countries today, not just The Bahamas.
The developed countries have a well known track record of donating to third world countries medications, etc. that they, for one reason or another, consider unsuitable for their own citizens.
Remember, even when stored under ideal frigid conditions, the chemical stability of the bottled doses of these warp speed developed experimental vaccines begins to breakdown. This greatly diminishes the efficacy of doses nearing their expiry date, which the manufacturers have estimated to be in the range of 6 to 8 months.
Unfortunately there seems to be scant scientific information available on the health consequences of getting jabbed with doses that for whatever reason were not properly stored under the required cold conditions or have passed their original estimated expiry date.
Once again, make sure you yourself check the expiry date label on your dosage bottle before you get jabbed.
ScubaSteve 3 years, 3 months ago
For both of my shots, I sat there and watched the nurse/tech withdrawal the vaccine from the vile and then stick it in my arm. Super easy and not a big deal. Also, I'm sure, had I asked, she would have shown me the dates/info on the side of the vile.
lobsta 3 years, 3 months ago
No, that's not a big question at all for normal people. The US is not shipping expired vaccines. The US expressly ordered vaccines to be donated to other countries. It's simply good diplomacy. Compared to defense spending it's nothing. I am getting sick and tired of all you people trying to undermine the vaccination effort. You should be ashamed of yourself and go back to your conspiratorial caves whence you came from.
tribanon 3 years, 3 months ago
And just who gets to define "normal people"? You? lol
ohdrap4 3 years, 3 months ago
A nuse anti vaxxer in germany administered thousands of doses of saline water.
ThisIsOurs 3 years, 3 months ago
Most Bahamians are "normal" people. They ask zero questions.
Most of the normal people are "Surprised" that we're having a spike. When Renward Wells said the results confirm there are no variants in the bahamas, the normal people said you hear what he said? Now shut up. Most normal Bahamians dont realize that the PHA uncharacteristically shouted to the country from July 6th that the hospital was at capacity THEN. Most people dont realize that Dr Minnis was spinning a happy election coming tune ignoring the numbers straight up to July 29th, 4 weeks later, FOUR WEEKS OF INACTION, when the situation got so bad he could no longer pretend it wasnt happening.
That's what the normal people allowed. We need more abnormal people because what we getting from normal behaviour is literally killing us.
TalRussell 3 years, 3 months ago
Is colony's prime minister at it again — stoodin' upon the floor PopoulacesHouse — makin' it all about — 'emself — Tellin' a juicy — OBAN likes — outright lie by dismissing — precisely — was the backstory — led to Comrade A.D's — replacing we Queen on $100 bill — Strangle how 'em waited until AD — deaded — Not to be around correct 'em as to the more truthful version back story— yes?
bahamianson 3 years, 3 months ago
the Aliens are coming, everybody hide.
TalRussell 3 years, 3 months ago
@ComradeBahamian — remind me — wasn't it the — East-West U-Turn — prime minister, who short time back — orbited 'emself with — the Red Martian planet — yes?
rodentos 3 years, 3 months ago
how comes that the "pandemic" did not come to an end in the countries with 100% vaccination rate?
tribanon 3 years, 3 months ago
Sadly, evil multi-billionaire oligarchs with huge investments in bio-tech sciences, combined with the tyranny of sinister deep state actors within big governments around the world, have found two new tools for achieving their goal of global population control, i.e. engineered viruses and vaccines.
This could easily be game over if all of mankind does not rise up against the very evil forces now at play. Mankind's very existence is now at stake, with very sinister and evil super wealthy individuals wanting the power to decide in a most hideous and insidious way who should get to live and who must die.
proudloudandfnm 3 years, 3 months ago
Damn. You truly are an idiot...
DonAnthony 3 years, 3 months ago
I am certain sandilands is missing a particularly loquacious paranoid delusional patient named tribanon!
tribanon 3 years, 3 months ago
Aaahh yes, there will always be an unquestioning and most obedient flock of blind sheep, albeit in dwindling numbers globally.
ForeverDreamer 3 years, 3 months ago
Which country has 100% vaccination rate? Do you mean the recommended population at that time, probably being people 18+? Or do you mean 100% as in toddlers, newborns, immunocompromised?
Assuming you are not being ridiculous, and you mean the former, I don't think any country has made it to 100%. If you have the info, it would be interesting to review.
stillwaters 3 years, 3 months ago
This blog has become the meeting place of conspiracy theorists who are either stroking each other's egos or measuring who has the largest conspiracy dick. Pity.....
tribanon 3 years, 3 months ago
And you're not the least bit concerned about the fact that no real investigation was ever done into the origins of the unnatural Wuhan Virus. Even the deep state actors within the US government, who have been partnering for decades with privately owned bio-tech firms, and continue to be engaged in pioneering bio-weapons research, have caused elected government officials in the US to back off on their cries for a full and proper investigation of the involvement in the creation of the gain-of-function Wuhan Virus by certain high level NIH officials (Fauci, Dazsak, Collins et al.) and virology research scientists controlled by the military arm of the Communist Chinese Party.
I guess you're just not interested in doing anything to prevent the sinister evil doers from unleashing on us their next virus aimed at achieving even greater population control.
MrsQ 3 years, 3 months ago
It's absolutely shameful that The Tribune is allowing this nonsensical and completely false anti-vax garbage to flourish here. It is literally costing Bahamian lives.
tribanon 3 years, 3 months ago
And if your most worshipful Minnis has way, there will only be the voice of people like you in his authoritarian police state. Now that's a most frightening thought....a society akin to a flock of unquestioning and obedient sheep all too willing to be led to slaughter under the guise of the greater good when they're told their time has come.
MrsQ 3 years, 3 months ago
Your tiresome recycled paranoid comments and personal attacks will never erase the blood from your hands.
tribanon 3 years, 3 months ago
And I'm sure you accused Minnis and D'Aguilar of having blood on their hands when they pre-maturely opened our country's borders to travel in early July of last year at a time when all of Florida was ablaze with its first major wave of the pandemic. It wasn't long after that most foolish decision that our country experienced most of its deaths from the Wuhan virus, mainly among the elderly with serious co-morbidities.
ThisIsOurs 3 years, 3 months ago
4 weeks of inaction caused Bahamian lives. You want to look for a cause? Assess the policy of allowing vaccinated tourists to enter the country untested. The cases exploded shortly after and the cabinet did nothing
MrsQ 3 years, 3 months ago
I agree that the government's policies here in terms of letting untested tourists in both prior to and after the development of the vaccine has cost Bahamian lives. I felt it was irresponsible of Minnis to reopen the country to tourism before a vaccine was available last July. But it's not just tourists who are spreading the disease. The majority of Bahamians are unvaccinated and still not following COVID safety protocols, allowing the disease to run rampant. And the tinfoil hat wearing conspiracy theorists who dominate the comments section of this site and local social media are absolutely contributing to the problem of vaccine hesitancy among Bahamians and the subsequent deaths associated with that.
ThisIsOurs 3 years, 3 months ago
If you maintain your fence, your bulldog cant get out and bite nobody. If you leave the gate open, dont blame the dog or the child who shouldnt have been playing in the road unsupervised.
The delta variant didnt come from Bahamians with no travel history. Because Bahamians had been mixing up and breathing on each other from November last year and cases were going down. Up to the middle of March 2021 when the first exponential increase in visitors happened. The delta variant came from someone who crossed the border. That was bad enough. But the govt went out of their way to pretend it wasnt happening. Then pretended there was no link to travel. It was criminal. Its a crying shame, 300 people dead. Lets say 230. Because we were up to about 80 I think before the borders opened. Its a crying (literally) shame
CoolCatBD 3 years, 3 months ago
StillWater, you seem pretty sore, in your opinion who has the largest "cd" ?
Anyone that wants to take vaccines please do, if not then don't. I just think drugs like "Ivermectin" can help the unvaccinated, and help vaccinated people with breakthrough cases of covid-19.What's up with vaccine or nothing???
carltonr61 3 years, 3 months ago
https://m.jpost.com/health-science/coul…
Help drug for Covid patients
whatsup 3 years, 3 months ago
Never saw any photos of pm and other politicians receiving their SECOND JAB
tribanon 3 years, 3 months ago
And you would think they would be getting at least a jab or two every couple of months the way they've been pushing these experimental vaccines. lol
whogothere 3 years, 3 months ago
Israel 80% vaccinated braces for huge impact on hospitalization....just like they did this time last year...it’s almost as if they forget that respiratory pathogen are cyclical and seasonal in nature and vaccine does not cure old age...
www.timesofisrael.com/health-officials-…
tribanon 3 years, 3 months ago
The variants are doing exactly what was intended by those who created and unleashed the original Wuhan virus. This virus was malaciously engineered to mutate and adapt extremely quickly and in a most unnatural way with serious lethal repercussions that its creators may not have fully anticipated.
whogothere 3 years, 3 months ago
I will say this - it's more profitable to create a product that ensures repeat purchase and therefore increase the lifetime value of the consumer than to create something the consumer only uses once. This is just business 101.
John 3 years, 3 months ago
The bottom line is 'Da Vaccines dem is here." And they want you to take them, At any cost. Never mind the science. Not to worry about safety or efficacy rates or safety. Just take the jab. Not to worry that you may have to take another shot after six months. Some people are already doing it out of fear, stupidity, being brainwashed or sheer panic. ANd the experts are not telling them 'don't do it, you may overdose or the outcome is not known.' The general responses is., :Well it is a personal decision, a matter of choice, Each person will have to weigh the consequences and decide what's best from them,' Now there's a lot of science in that statement. A whole lot of science. do anything, say anything as long as you don't knock the vaccines.. What happened to 'stick to the dosage on your prescription and if there are any adverse effects, stop taking the medication and consult your medical provider immediately. But no, they are saying its ok to take more once you are comfortable with. Like dishing out candy,
Bobsyeruncle 3 years, 3 months ago
Without going into the detail of the physiology, pharmacodynamics & pharmacokinetics of vaccines & drugs here, they are both technically different. Generally, Vaccines are administered solely to PREVENT disease in the POPULATION. Drugs on the other hand are administered to TREAT the disease in an INDIVIDUAL.
Your doctor will typically write a prescription for a DRUG (unless it's OTC). IMMUNIZATIONS do NOT typically require a prescription from your Doctor, and can be administered by any qualified Pharmacist on request.
The 'stick to the dosage' you are referring to, is normally applied to DRUGS, not vaccines, and is based on the recommendation of your Doctor, but can be increased (or decreased) by him/her based on follow up evaluations. Vaccines are typically a fixed dose, but their effectiveness may wear off over time and require periodic boosters of the same fixed dose (e.g. Flu, Tetanus, Diptheria, Pertussis (Tdap), Typhoid, Yellow Fever & various other vaccinations required for travel to certain countries).
Because VACCINES are biologics, in the USA they are governed & regulated by the CBER (Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research) division of the FDA. DRUGS, on the other hand are governed and regulated by CDER (Center for Drug Evaluation and Research). Two discrete and different divisions are required because the science is typically very different.
In reality, it's not always as black and white as that, as some DRUGS can be classed as Biologics, but Vaccines are always biologics.
whogothere 3 years, 3 months ago
Hey Bob, your friendly neighbourhood cherry picker here- curious - honest question - what do you call a vaccine that doesn't prevent disease?
tribanon 3 years, 3 months ago
A real money maker!
baclarke 3 years, 3 months ago
I'm thankful for the Pfizer vaccine, and plan on taking it as soon as I can. I see persons commenting here on wanting to silence what they consider to be conspiracy theorists. The thing is, you can't prove any of these guys wrong... Stop trying to control what people are saying or else it may happen to you and you certainly won't like it. Instead, allow persons to be responsible and do their own research and come to their own decisions. I don't agree with everything that Tribanon and some others are saying, but I certainly agree that big Pharma is most likely playing a role in this and stands to benefit financially more than anyone else. I also think the virus was created intentionally based on the provided facts, but perhaps escaped unintentionally and now they simply can't control it. I don't want to take the vaccine, but will take it at this point since it is shown to provide a level of protection and because the world will intentionally bully you by limiting your rights if you don't. Is there conspiracy here? Based on these things, hell yeah, I think it's more than feasible... can anyone prove any of these theories beyond a doubt? No.. but the possibility is there. If they want persons to be less hesitant at least be fair with the conversation and report on the grievances of those who may have suffered loss or had serious impact due to the vaccines. Never see it here. At least other countries like the US, EU, and Australia report on the negative impacts. But here, all they can tell you is cause of death is "unknown". Either way, everyone has to make their own decision on what to do and stop crying about not liking what certain persons say. Go cry a river elsewhere.
John 3 years, 3 months ago
Baclarke either you are a wyd snd a sellout or an agent of the pro acres. Read what you posted and count how many times you contradicted your own self. Your story has more holes than two seives.
baclarke 3 years, 3 months ago
What contradiction? Am i taking the vaccine? yes. Does it mean that I discount the possibility of conspiracy? no. Do vaccines provide a level of protection against being hospitalized and severe symptoms? yes. Does our government report on the negatives impacts of the vaccines? no. Should everyone make their own decision on whether to take the vaccine? yes. Should opinions be silenced in comments and social media? no.
John 3 years, 3 months ago
So why would one want to follow the advice and take medicine from a country whose Covid numbers had always been more than any other country? Whose current number of new cases (143,000) is FOUR TIMES as much as the second highest country (India with 40,000)? And similarly for hospitalizations and deaths. And it’s vaccine hesitancy rate among its citizens is as great or even greater than this country’s and the number of cases here is definitely tied to persons visiting that country and vice versa. It appears patently clear that the priority goal is to get more people vaccinated, if not everyone, rather than beat the disease and so people will continue to ask why.
John 3 years, 3 months ago
Florida has had more cases in the past week than THIRTY other states combined and Florida and Texas lead the way in new cases by a wide margins. Together these two states now account for 40% of new cases nationwide in the US. And there is severe medical staff shortage, especially In Texas where clinics had to be closed to supply staff to major hospitals. Yet our borders remain fully open.
whogothere 3 years, 3 months ago
serious question -Are we going to close every time there is a seasonal bump?
John 3 years, 3 months ago
As long as the US follows the advice of Anthony Fauci, the pandemic will rage on. He is trying to demonize people who don’t take the vaccines but it was his ( sponsored) gain-of-function experiments that apparently led to this pandemic. And he continues to mislead especially about vaccinations, the wearing of masks and testing. He will eventually be jailed.
John 3 years, 3 months ago
Then there are over 2,000 active cases in this country. But those who are not hospitalized are supposed to self isolate and quarantine. But do they? Some have been seen shopping, at work and even in social settings. Mixing and mingling. Maybe the focus must now be shifted from trying to control the general population to monitoring and controlling persons who test positive and ensure they isolate and quarantine
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