PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis pictured when receiving his vaccination.
“We only have two choices, we are either going to get vaccinated and end the pandemic or we are going to accept death, a lot of it, this surge and another surge and possibly another variant.”
- Dr Catherine O’Neal, Infectious Disease Expert
Last week Friday, the highly-regarded US Centre for Disease Control Director Dr Rochelle Walensky offered: “There is a clear message that is coming through: This is becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated”, which is becoming a term of art in the medical field.
Her remarks were later echoed by Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis, but he was pilloried by some for saying generally the same thing. Perhaps those who criticized the Prime Minister might wish to similarly criticize Dr Walensky or perhaps they were blithely ill-informed or unaware of her comments.
Walensky, a physician-scientist, has an impressive resume, including as an expert on HIV/AIDS. She served as a medical professor at Harvard Medical School and at the well-known teaching hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, as Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases.
Perhaps those who were quick and pat in criticizing the Prime Minister’s comment, even suggesting it was “curious”, might wish to reconsider their ill-advised and somewhat knee-jerk commentary, given a number of medical experts have generally the same view, though some might soft pedal their views.
It is not that the pandemic is mostly over. The larger point is that it is overwhelmingly the unvaccinated who are suffering the worst health effects, with many succumbing to COVID-19 dying tragically and needlessly.
Those who opine for a living should be as judicious and as nuanced as possible, providing context and greater understanding. Dr Walensky also noted of the pandemic in the US: “We are seeing outbreaks in parts of the country where we’re seeing low vaccination coverage. The good news is, if you’re fully vaccinated, you’re protected … our biggest concern is we are going to continue to see preventable cases, hospitalizations and, sadly, deaths among the unvaccinated.”
The virus and its variants are overwhelmingly being spread by and are infecting the unvaccinated.
John Hopkins Centre for Health Security Senior Fellow D Amesh Adalja stressed: “It’s likely that COVID-19 is now moving into a phase where it’s a regional problem and not a systemic problem for the country, because of the differential in vaccinations. Fully vaccinated areas are going to see a very blunted impact of Delta.”
And Boston Children’s Hospital’s John Brownstein, PhD, noted: “The impact of the more transmissible Delta variant will not be felt in a uniform way across the country. Major pockets of unvaccinated people will continue to be the main hosts that will allow this virus to circulate.”
IGNORANCE
What many experts and most politicians cannot say is that we are in some ways experiencing a pandemic of magical thinking, ignorance, fear and, yes, stupidity, classically defined as: “behaviour that shows a lack of good sense or judgement.”
We are all heir to stupidity. Humans sometimes make asinine, ludicrous and reckless decisions, regardless of levels of education or intellect.
The staunch anti-vaxxers are unlikely to be moved or persuaded. Some of them will die for their beliefs, including some who have already died of COVID-19, insisting the virus and the disease are conspiracies and/or fake news.
But there is a larger number of people who are vaccine-hesitant. There are others not opposed to vaccination but who have been slack, indifferent or lazy in getting vaccinated. They should beware: the virus is an opportunist of the highest order, waiting to attack as quickly and as ruthlessly as possible.
A public health crisis demands maturity and personal responsibility by individuals. In some jurisdictions, there is also a pandemic of slackness, immaturity, arrogance and cavalier attitudes and behaviour. The virus is exploiting hubris.
A BBC story reported on 54-year-old Faisal Bashir, who recently lamented: “I was offered the vaccine, but I was arrogant. I was going to the gym, cycling, walking and running. Given that I was strong and healthy I didn’t think I needed it.
“That also meant that if it turned out not to be safe I wouldn’t have taken any risks. But the truth was that I couldn’t avoid the virus. It still got me. I don’t know how or where.”
Faisal was discharged after a week in hospital, where he was on oxygen. He remarked: “What I’ve experienced in hospital – the care and expertise – humbles me. People are filling the hospitals by taking chances and it’s wrong. I feel terrible. I feel so bad about it and I hope by speaking out it helps others avoid this.”
Sadly, there are scores of stories like this, including by Bahamians who are now getting seriously ill and filling the hospital, with more recent deaths and more deaths to come in the days and weeks ahead.
How many have to die or become ill before others will take the vaccine? We do not know! But the current surge is going to be tragic and debilitating for many in what is now overwhelmingly a pandemic of the unvaccinated.
This is likely to remain a long, hard slog in getting more Bahamians vaccinated, though hopefully, this surge will encourage more people.
LIVE OR DIE
About a month ago in the UK, Abderrahmane Fadil left hospital but is still unwell. His advice: “I wish I could go to each and every person who refuses to have the vaccine and tell them, ‘Look, this is a matter of life of death. Do you want to live or die? If you want to live, then go and get the vaccine’. “
Governments and officials have bent over backward to be inviting, considerate and patient in encouraging people to get vaccinated. But the patience is running out on those who refuse to get vaccinated for unsubstantial, unintelligible or idiotic reasons.
As the Associated Press reported from Paris: “More than one million people in France made vaccine appointments in less than a day … after the President cranked up pressure on everyone to get vaccinated to save the summer vacation season and the French economy.”
President Emmanuel Macron thumped that people “get vaccinated” in order for the country to return to a greater level of normalcy. The stick and carrot by the President was that a vaccine might be necessary for entry to cafes and other venues the French like to frequent.
Two weeks ago, the Belizean Government released a new Statutory Instrument which included provisions requiring bi-weekly COVID-19 tests, beginning August 1, for frontline workers who have not started the vaccination process.
The Instrument states in Section 11(3) of SI 74 of 2021: “A frontline worker who fails to comply with this regulation shall be deemed absent from work and subject to disciplinary proceedings in accordance with any law that regulates the services of that frontline worker.”
For those Bahamians who have kvetched, moaned, bitched, complained and sucked their teeth about our Emergency Orders, including the Leader of the Opposition, such orders are even stronger in other jurisdictions.
PATIENCE
Belize is in dire straits economically, with the Government recently cutting the pay of public sector workers by ten percent. Earlier in May, the country defaulted on its debt for a second time in a year.
With the need to gets its economy fully re-opened, the Government of the country of approximately 400,000 people has lost patience with many public employees.
According to the Amandala newspaper: “… The Health Ministry has explained that they have expanded the category of frontline workers in order to be inclusive of the workers who will be on the frontline in the country’s efforts to bring about economic recovery, especially in the tourism industry.”
“Those frontline workers who will be mandated to present a negative COVID-19 test result every two weeks if they have not been vaccinated include healthcare workers, police officers, Coast Guard officers, Belizean Defence Force soldiers, teachers, tourism workers, Customs officers, Immigration officers, public transport operators, officers from the Transport Department and workers in public utility services.”
Many countries no longer have the luxury of mollycoddling public sector employees, who wish to retain their full salaries and benefits but who refuse to do what is necessary to reopen economies in order to boost government revenues in order to pay them. This is ethically irresponsible.
When The Bahamas receives more vaccines, making it possible to rapidly vaccinate many more people as possible, we have the power as a small nation to quickly end the worst of the pandemic, which is overwhelmingly being fuelled by the unvaccinated. This is a pandemic of the unvaccinated in multiple ways.
Getting vaccinated is about more than an individual decision about one’s health. As other world leaders and some religious leaders have stressed, it is also an act of patriotism and the common good.
The ability to reopen the country and our economy, to save lives and to prevent ill-health is as much, or even more, in the hands of individual citizens than it is in the hands of government officials. We need a sort of pandemic of goodwill and patriotism to heal and to restore the country.
More like this story
- FRONT PORCH: COVID-19 – Magical Thinking is Killing Us
- FRONT PORCH: Why don’t the unvaccinated listen? More waves are coming and hundreds are going to die
- FRONT PORCH: If you can, take the vaccine, because this crisis is far from over
- FRONT PORCH: What’s the actual plan for vaccine booster shots?
- EDITORIAL: Cases rising and workers overwhelmed - what next?
Comments
tribanon 3 years, 3 months ago
Has anyone told Minnis that those jabs he got 6 months or so ago may now only afford him very limited protection because of their waning efficacy?
Why would the global oligarchs and plutocrats develop a permanent 'two jabs and done' vaccine solution when there is so much wealth for them to acquire from a newly created and fully controlled Vaccine Dependent Global Society? Just think of it. Costly annual tests and annual jabs for the remainder of your life, with global oligarchs determining who gets to live and who must die from their customized lab created 'gain of function' viruses and mRNA vaccines.
Yup. Lends a whole new meaning to the saying, "Give me liberty, or give me death".
proudloudandfnm 3 years, 3 months ago
What waning efficacy? You on drugs? What a dumb thing to say.
ohdrap4 3 years, 3 months ago
Pfizer knows that. Reaso they asked approval for 3rd booster shot.
The ad hominem of calling people dumb does not validate your argument.
proudloudandfnm 3 years, 3 months ago
No it doesn't but your still dumb as a bag of rocks..
carltonr61 3 years, 3 months ago
Go read please.
newcitizen 3 years, 3 months ago
Please tell me why the globalists would kill off all the people willing to go along with their vaccine? You realize how dumb that sounds? They are going to kill off the sheep and leave all you 'free thinkers' alive?
tribanon 3 years, 3 months ago
What part of the term "Vaccine Dependent" don't you understand? The vaccinated obviously could not become vaccine dependent for the rest of their lives if the jabs they receive kill them. Why would big pharma want to kill the goose that would continue laying many golden eggs during the remainder of its miserable vaccine dependent lifetime? Put on your thinking cap!
newcitizen 3 years, 3 months ago
Put on your thinking cap?! Jesus...
tribanon 3 years, 3 months ago
ZZZZZzzzzz.....
birdiestrachan 3 years, 3 months ago
Do the Bahamas have sufficient vaccines? The Bahamas is at the bottom of Countries that have managed Covid 19 well.
birdiestrachan 3 years, 3 months ago
The Bahamas is borrowing vaccines from other countries. The PM has not done well at all with this crisis,
joeblow 3 years, 3 months ago
... in this same daily, the head of the nurses union states categorically that BOTH vaccinated and unvaccinated persons are in hospital with COVID!
Two days ago, several high ranking democrats in the Biden administration who have been vaccinated were diagnosed with COVID!
WebMD ran an article about 6 fully vaccinated people at an outdoor wedding with 92 guests, getting COVID https://www.webmd.com/vaccines/covid-19…
So who are we to believe?
NIH released a study from Jan. 2021 showing that people who may have had COVID have lasting immunity: https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-res…
The CDC reports that over 6200 people have died after getting COVID vaccines https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nc…
This is just info. Each one should make up their own mind, because with such confusion and scarcity of information from those in government who just want to push the "vaccine", I have questions and concerns!
tribanon 3 years, 3 months ago
In the US the NIH and CDC are for all intents and purposes controlled by Fauci and his people who have all along been in bed with the oligarchist controlled unholy alliance between big pharma and a large swathe of elected house representatives and senators in the US congress.
newcitizen 3 years, 3 months ago
So you don't want to get vaccinated, why are you so worried about others getting it? Me thinks the lady protests a bit too much.
Why are you so desperately trying to be right about this? Are you actually trying to 'save' people? How many other vaccines have you taken? How much research did you do before that? Can you tell me what mRNA actually stands for?
tribanon 3 years, 3 months ago
See my reply to a later posting of your additional comments below.
JokeyJack 3 years, 3 months ago
You're trying to get yourself in trouble friend. Everyone must admit - There are witches and they must be burned at the stake
ThisIsOurs 3 years, 3 months ago
"This is becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated”, which is becoming a term of art in the medical field"
No, its becoming a term of the shortsighted. Vaccinated persons are ending up in hospitals too. We need to stop parroting what other leaders say. What should be clear to everybody in the bahamas is, the extremely high percentage of sick people we have before COVID. That says to me Covid outcomes could be different for us abd we should be watching that not thinking we have some invisible force field
proudloudandfnm 3 years, 3 months ago
Um no. Sorry. But no. 99% of all covid related hospitalizations are unvaccinated. Worldwide. Period.
This is not opinion, this is documented fact.
Get off of facebook. For Christ sake...
ohdrap4 3 years, 3 months ago
For now , perhaps. In a few weeks the 99% will drop dramatically.
proudloudandfnm 3 years, 3 months ago
Dumb ass, ignorant statement...
tribanon 3 years, 3 months ago
ZZZZzzzzz...... you're a real mean SOB.
ThisIsOurs 3 years, 3 months ago
i literally do not use fb sorry. hate it.1/3 of deaths from delta in Israel and UK are fully vaccinated. Were an obese hypertensive nation I say dont put all your eggs in one basket parroting the actions of thin healthy nations
newcitizen 3 years, 3 months ago
Do you know basic math? Do you understand that 95% of deaths come fro those over 65? Now consider that the UK has 95% of those over 65's vaccinated. So 5% unvaccinated and 95% vaccinated, now 2/3 of those people dying are unvaccinated, and 1/3 vaccinated. Assuming 100 people, if 3 people die, then 1 out of 95 vaccinated people die, and 2 out of 5 unvaccinated people die.
When you read this, do you understand, or are you still desperate to cling to your story?
tribanon 3 years, 3 months ago
As I've said many times before, those like you who are relentlessly pushing for everyone to get jabbed with these warp speed developed experimental vaccines, even though they have only been authorized for emergency use on a voluntary basis, are perversely lending much credibility to the very real concerns of those who do not wish to participate in this unprecedented global experiment aimed at creating a new Vaccine Dependent Global Society.
proudloudandfnm 3 years, 3 months ago
A vaccine dependent global society????
That's just dumb.
Damn....
tribanon 3 years, 3 months ago
ZZZZzzzzz......
whogothere 3 years, 3 months ago
Sorry Bub - newcitz - your math is off..
Latest figs dropped this morning. Delta Variant death UK:
Fully Vaccinated Deaths: 260 out 15,345 breakthrough infection CFR: 1.6%
Partially (death 21days + one dose) Vaccinated Deaths: 60 out 27,714 infections CFR: 0.21%
Unvaccinated: 165 out of 119,063 infections. CFR: 0.13%
Chances of death if under 50 statically 0 vaccinated or not - delta is sham..
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u…
whogothere 3 years, 3 months ago
Proud proud...still ignore the English and Israeli data I see..
Dawes 3 years, 3 months ago
Fully agree on this nation being unhealthy before Covid. To me the fact that we haven't done mass publicity on trying to get people healthy is ludicrous and immoral.
whogothere 3 years, 3 months ago
Where do these Panic purveyors get off...
“Accept a lot of death...”
200+ people died this year most of whom where overweight, where compromised by some over ailment or where just simply elderly. 3 TIMES THAT die colonary disease, hypertension and diabetes stemming from poor diet and lack of exercise...Where is the righteous indignation about that...where were the calls to ban soda, fried chicken and mayonnaise...
Vaccines like lockdowns, masks, school closures or getting people to go bed earlier were never going to get us out of this - the only thing is attitude change from medical and political community - this isn’t the plague to end all plagues... IFR is 0.15 % IHR is maybe 2%-4% if that. Natural immunity works and will likely last longer than anything that can be conjured in the Pfizer, AZ lab.. Focus on treatment. And let society get on with it.. We’ll behave - we ll wash our hands, cover our mouths when we cough etc etc...
newcitizen 3 years, 3 months ago
IFR is 0.15%? That must be why in Peru 0.584% of the ENTIRE POPULATION died of Covid. Everyone must have gotten Covid 4 times then.
whogothere 3 years, 3 months ago
Gosh Peru great example - locked down like super hard and that clearly worked super well - 40% of population don't fridges and were then forced to into cramp conditions which drove up cases exponentially - yeah great example. I m glad you brought up population fatality rates because in The Bahamas right now it's 0.06% of the population - um yah really in the danger zone... Anyway so yes 0.15 IFR is global rate on average a la WHO. Tottle off now..
https://www.who.int/bulletin/online_fir…
newcitizen 3 years, 3 months ago
Did you read that report, because it completely contradicts you. Seems like you just post a link and hope no one reads it to find out just how full of it you are.
whogothere 3 years, 3 months ago
Oh newcitz tottle on off ...here’s another report I didn’t read...
“Conclusions: All systematic evaluations of seroprevalence data converge that SARS-CoV-2 infection is widely spread globally. Acknowledging residual uncertainties, the available evidence suggests average global IFR of ~0.15% and ~1.5-2.0 billion infections by February 2021 with substantial differences in IFR and in infection spread across continents, countries and locations.”
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3376853…
newcitizen 3 years, 3 months ago
Hahaha, a John Ioannidis paper, got anything from David Icke?
whogothere 3 years, 3 months ago
Oh I guess you didn’t read that the WHO report I posted was also written by Ioannidis... if he’s good enough for The Who then he’s good enough me..
Ha ha still no good come back? tootle do sweetheart...
SP 3 years, 3 months ago
Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, if they are so concerned about the dam pandemic, drop the ban on the importation of N95 masks!
They can't have it both ways. Either encourage people to protect themselves with the vitamin B, C, Zinc, cocktail and drop the asinine ban on N95 masks or shut the hell up about how dangerous the virus is.
Absolute stupidity in the Bahamas as usual!
whogothere 3 years, 3 months ago
yes yes yes
tribanon 3 years, 3 months ago
Bingo!
mandela 3 years, 3 months ago
The government has to have the vaccines in the country before they can scrutinize and talk about the unvaccinated person how can we all be vaccinated when they borrowing 3000 doses here and 5000 there, have sufficient vaccines (600,000) for the nation in the country, then and only then can the government or anyone else scrutinize the pace of being vaccinated.
carltonr61 3 years, 3 months ago
Hardened criminals have had to leave their safety net of manual Labour by refusing the vaccine. Crime will kill us more than Covid. It has just began. Youl need to hear the streets. The worst of the worst former criminals refuse to be vaccinated. Vaccine paradise will become a crime from hell. There is something called blowback. Vaccine maniacs are creating an underworld where no one will sleep.
TalRussell 3 years, 3 months ago
In 9 weeks our much-beloved family member goin' been deaded-missed a full 365 days after being doctor ambulanced for admission to PMH after testing COVID positive, and over this long stretch, not a single family member, nor friends, nor the people he knew via recent business/personal close contact with, were ever to this very day and hour, contacted by phone nor in the physical nor by ground mail nor email, by a single soul at the ministry of health.
Was this health system failure occurrence, just a rare slipup by the ministry of health's trace people, yes?
John 3 years, 3 months ago
Most of what the pro-Vader’s are spreading is bullshyt. Firstly, despite the world being widely open, the Covid cases are not as intense as they were in the previous wave when most of the world was locked down, some countries fully and others partially. Secondly, there’s no corresponding increase in deaths in respect to the increase in new cases. In other words, less people are dying from this new wave of corona. Thirdly, if you study the data closely, the greatest increases in corona cases are in the countries with the highest rates of vaccinations and/or countries, like The Bahamas, that have porous borders and active borders with many persons entering and leaving. And whilst the new cases (and deaths) may not be amongst the vaccinated, it is definitely in the most vaccinated countries. And as the world went through a series of corona waves, why or how has China managed to keep its daily new cases under 50 and its daily deaths close to zero? Two main effo, border control and control of outbreaks. Persons moving in and out of China are very closely monitored. And if you are suspect when entering, you are denied entry or quarantined. And if someone tests positive for the virus, the entire community is put on lockdown. All essential supplies and services are brought in and no one is allowed to leave until the ‘all clear’ is given. Of course this is creating problems at China’s shipping ports where the backlog of goods scheduled to leave China is some 3-4 months. But, unlike most of the rest of the world, China’s priority number one is to beat and contain the virus at all costs. And secondly China does not have a VACCINE AGENDA!
tribanon 3 years, 3 months ago
Your misguided blind faith in the propaganda and ridiculous statistics put out by the very sinister and ruthlessly evil Xi Jinping led communist regime is duly noted as is your great love of the Communist Chinese Party itself. lol
bahamianson 3 years, 3 months ago
so, the pm gets the vaccines in country, and no one wants to take it. The vaccines go bad , and we need more vaccines. now, there are no vaccines available, and people cry because of it. you cannot please people that you can never satisfy. you want to eat your cake and have it also. it cannot work. 15% of the population is fully vaccinated and that is a piss poor percentage. You do not get to criticize the pm for bringing a vaccine to the people , you complain and not take it, then criticize him for not enough vaccine availability.
tribanon 3 years, 3 months ago
ZZZZZzzzzz......
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