George Phang told to consult doc before taking COVID jab
Scared of needles, more young men opting for J&J shot
Published:Friday | September 10, 2021 | 12:10 AMChristopher Serju/Senior Gleaner Writer
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Popular Arnett Gardens community activist George Phang, who miraculously survived 19 bullets in 2003, was yesterday advised to consult his personal physician before taking the COVID-19 vaccine. Phang told The Gleaner that the advice was given...
Popular Arnett Gardens community activist George Phang, who miraculously survived 19 bullets in 2003, was yesterday advised to consult his personal physician before taking the COVID-19 vaccine.
Phang told The Gleaner that the advice was given because he had underlying medical conditions.
He exchanged pleasantries with St Andrew Southern Member of Parliament Mark Golding before leaving the vaccination centre at the Jones Town Primary School.
Phang was among scores of residents of St Andrew Southern who turned out at the Jones Town Primary School and the Trench Town Polytechnic College in St Andrew Southern for the COVID-19 vaccination exercise.
Consultant medical officer to the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Dr Audre McIntosh, told The Gleaner that with the Johnson & Johnson (J&J)-manufactured COVID-19 jab now in the island’s vaccination arsenal, more young men are opting for this one-shot vaccine over the two-shot Pfizer and AstraZeneca options.
This is not because the J&J shot offers any greater benefit but simply because they are scared of injections, she explained.
“The gentlemen, they don’t like to take injections, so they prefer to take the Johnson & Johnson because they don’t want to come back to take another injection because they are terrified about injections – not the vaccine itself, but the injection.”
One elderly man quickly told a nurse he was not interested in the single jab when the options available to him were explained.
“That too ‘trong fi me. Mi a old man, and it will kill me. So give the two-injection one,” he said.
However, McIntosh pointed out that the vaccines were safe for the elderly and people with underlying medical conditions such as diabetes and high or low blood pressure, pregnant women, although they should tell their healthcare providers about these conditions.
“Of course, the only contra-indication is if you have COVID-19 infection right now, you shouldn’t take it. The fear is all in the head,” she said.
TACKLING HESITANCY
MP Golding noted the urgency with which Jamaica needs to increase its vaccination numbers as it battles the coronavirus.
Golding, who is also the leader of the Opposition, admitted that the level of vaccine hesitancy in the communities where jabs were given yesterday is very high, with misinformation fuelled through various social media platforms. This includes a number of videos of people professing to be experts spouting an abundance of negativity about the different COVID-19 vaccines.
“It’s a hard challenge that. You have to really try and persuade people to get vaccinated, and that’s what we are trying to do, and we will continue to stick to it,” he told The Gleaner when our news team caught up with him at the Jones Town Primary School.
“ ... We are in a war against this virus so we need all hands on deck and leave politics behind,” he added, noting that although the Opposition would be supporting the national effort, it would also be holding the Government accountable.