Editorial: Get vaccinated; save lives

While many around the world, particularly those in poorer countries, are desperate for vaccines to help stop the ravages of Covid decimating their populations, the Cayman Islands are in the unbelievably fortunate position to have sufficient vaccines for its population. With the country amply stocked with vaccines, it’s everyone’s duty to get vaccinated to protect themselves and even more so, our most vulnerable.

This is especially important message for the younger generations, who may not necessarily suffer the worst symptoms a bout of Covid can bring, and who therefore might not consider getting a vaccine a priority. But those are the people who may easily pass the virus on to the more vulnerable among us.

And they should not be complacent. The Caymanian Times urges the younger generations to heed the warnings issued by our Chief Medical Officer Dr John Lee, who is urging persons in the 16 - 44 age group to come forward and get their COVID-19 vaccination. He spoke of the Brazil variants affecting that country’s younger generations in increasing numbers and urged Cayman’s younger generations to ensure they take advantage of Cayman’s privileged position and get vaccinated. He also spoke of the horrors currently taking place in India, where Covid has completely taken over in some parts of that country and where people are dying in their thousands because of a critical lack of oxygen.

There is also the issue of the use-by date of the vaccines we currently hold. Our supplies will not be usable forever and people are therefore encouraged to get vaccinated sooner rather than later. Side effects in most cases are minimal, just a sore arm or a short bout of flu-like symptoms. These are a minuscule price to pay for the comfort of knowing that once our borders are back open once more (and have no doubt about it, this will happen again at some point soon) our people are safe from the worst this awful virus can deliver.

Covid symptoms are not just about the short term with the initial onset of the virus, either, as the phenomenon known as ‘long Covid’ is also rearing it’s ugly head in countries such as the UK where Covid has been prevalent for a while. Long Covid appears to be a set of debilitating side effects that can take months or years to get over. Let’s not subject our own people to such horrors.

Get vaccinated; save lives.