Edghill urges Region 10 residents to get vaccinated

– reveals Region has lowest vaccination intake

In light of reports that residents of Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) are reluctant to take the COVID-19 vaccines, Public Works Minister Juan Edghill has sounded a call for them to get vaccinated.
He made his appeal during a visit to Linden for the launch of the Government’s 20,000 online scholarships programme. The Minister reiterated the importance of being vaccinated and related that he has spent hours visiting various clinics and encouraging persons to take the vaccines.
However, during a recent visit to several clinics in Linden, the Minister said that he was appalled at the low response rate.

Edghill related that the low turnout was the result of a lot of misinformation that is being peddled about the effects of taking the vaccines, which he vehemently sought to correct.
“I want to encourage everybody to get vaccinated… Region 10 has the lowest vaccination participation and it’s not because of shortage or lack of access. It has to do with attitude and misinformation…,” the Minister said.
He noted that while it was true that even if persons got vaccinated, they could still contract COVID-19, the vaccine helped in preventing persons from becoming extremely sick and dying.
He noted, too, that at the time of his visit to the region, three Lindeners were on ventilators in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and stressed that the virus did not discriminate.
“The cases are rising. It’s a disease that is global. The way to safeguard yourself is to be vaccinated. I encourage you to go and get your vaccines… I urge you, for the love of your life… the love of your children, the love of your neighbour and the love of your community – let good sense prevail and it is all in vaccination… We are here to serve you. We have made it available… The only way we can get back to normalcy is if we achieve herd immunity, sufficient amounts of people in our nation being vaccinated,” he stressed.
He noted that Government has made it possible for the vaccine to be available to everyone 18 years and over and as such, he believed everyone in that age range should take advantage of the initiative.
“Your Government has gone at lengths to ensure that there are vaccines available for every Guyanese 18 years and over… Linden, Region 10, I appeal to you, let’s get the vaccine. Choose which one you want when you go to the tent, but make sure you are vaccinated…,” the Minister added.
On Tuesday last, Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony noted that a higher uptake of the COVID-19 vaccines throughout the country has resulted in 25 per cent of the adult population taking their first doses in a matter of weeks. This, he noted, translates to about 124,000 individuals.
He added that since the age eligibility was lowered to 18 years and above, many persons have taken the opportunity to get inoculated.
With 25 per cent of the adult population taking their first of two shots, health authorities are aiming to reach closer to the 50 per cent mark by this weekend.
The Minister had previously said that approximately 500,000 persons were qualified to take the vaccines, since they were not available for children.
“About 25 per cent of our adult population has been covered with first dose of vaccination, but we want that to even be better. So, we’re hoping that we can get more people coming out, so that by the end of the week, probably be closer to 50 per cent of our population. So, we continue to work and we encourage all age groups to really come out and get their vaccines,” the Minister added.
Special emphasis was placed on the older population taking their vaccines, as the mortality statistics point to more deaths for this subset of people. There are more than 100 fixed sites around the country that offer vaccines, along with mobile units that visit various locations.