Our sense of patriotism should take precedence

Dear Editor,
Any right-thinking Guyanese must see this recent reaction of the Coalition at Linden as just another attempt to fulfil their political agenda, which they had also done on the West Coast of Berbice when they instigated massive and violent protests.
They simply do not care about the people, and this was evident during their tenure in office.
Certain misconceptions which are being peddled need to be addressed, and reliable and authoritative information is readily available on the internet to debunk those misconceptions. Our teachers, health care workers and the Opposition are aware of these. Some of these are outlined below.
To begin with, it is impossible to get the virus from the vaccine, since none of the vaccines contains an iota of the real virus. Further, any adverse effect will show up within the first two weeks, and certainly by the first two months, according to Dr Ashish Jha, Dean of the Brown University of Public Health. This is reason why participants in the trial of the various vaccines were asked to wait two months to ascertain the results and to authorise the use.
Furthermore, Dr Paul Offit, Director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia, has assured that the most serious side effects of the vaccine have all been caught within six weeks. So, this fear of side effects appearing long after taking the vaccination is unfounded. There are normal side effects which will follow the vaccine, but will go away within three days, although some persons would not experience any. After a person has been vaccinated, that person will remain for fifteen minutes, to see if there is any immediate reaction.
Then, even if persons have had the virus, those persons should still get vaccinated, since the immunity from the vaccine is much stronger and longer than from the virus itself.
Some people feel the vaccine may affect fertility. According to Dr Offit, this is utter nonsense. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also said there’s no link between any vaccine and fertility.
Have persons who refuse to take the vaccine actually assessed the negative impact on a lot of people, which include yourself, your loved ones and the country as a whole? Some people say, “If you’re vaccinated, then you should not be worried if I choose not to be vaccinated, since you’re safe”. This is not so, since even if a person is fully vaccinated, they can still be infected, since vaccines are not 100% effective.
So, there is a probability that an unvaccinated person can still infect those who are vaccinated. Hence the choice not to be vaccinated can hurt others. The freedom to put whatever you want in your body cannot be extended to what you can put into the bodies of others.
Added to that, there are persons who, for medical reasons, such as those who are on cancer chemotherapy, are at high risks of being infected from the unvaccinated. These people depend on the vaccinated people to protect them. Even animals offer protection to their wounded and sick. Our children under 12 years old cannot be vaccinated at this time, they depend on us to protect them. Even animals protect their young ones. Our vulnerable Guyanese are now completely dependent on us to provide protection to them.
Where is our sense of patriotism? What is the Opposition doing to serve our country?
In addition, when persons refuse to be vaccinated, the virus is allowed to replicate and create mutations, as has happened already with the Delta variant, which is far more contagious and which may cause a complete resistance to the immunity induced by the current vaccines. We need to avert this highly dangerous risk now. That would mean that all our efforts and financial costs to be vaccinated and protected against this deadly virus would come to naught. Is this what the Coalition wants? This is certainly a new method of attempting to destabilise the Government.
Now that they no longer have the majority in Parliament, they are devising news strategies to destabilise and wreak havoc and chaos, but have they considered the huge number of lives which will be lost?
Some of our young people feel that they are young and healthy and do not need to be vaccinated. These young people can get long-term COVID-19 complications, such as chronic fatigue, chest pain, shortness of breath, and brain fog for months after their infection.

Moreover, young people are easy transmitters of the virus, putting at risk everyone with whom they come in contact. Unfortunately, the new Delta variant is now infecting more children than before, so that they are now only carriers. As it is now, no one is safe, the virus is mutating, and the next mutation could be far worse than its predecessor.
Some people mistakenly believe that their faith would protect them. There is a universal saying, “Trust in God, but tie your camel”. God has given us the knowledge and the ability to reason and find solutions to our problems, and we need to use that ability. We have been vaccinated as kids, so what is the huge difference now?
This virus is a lot deadlier and contagious. Should not the COVID-19 vaccines be seen as an answer to the fervent prayers from our different faiths?
This Government has ensured that no one is burdened with the cost of the vaccines, and they are readily available and accessible to all. What would have been the position of those who are against the vaccines if the Coalition was successful in rigging the 2020 Elections?
The key to ending this pandemic is not only to get vaccinated, but to do that now. The virus must not be allowed to mutate into strains which we cannot control with our current vaccines. We are our brothers’ keepers and we must see it as our civic and spiritual duty to get our loved ones and friends vaccinated NOW.
Do not be misled by the Coalition leaders, who have already been vaccinated as well as their loved ones. Do not be used for their own selfish political gains.

Yours sincerely,
Haseef Yusuf