Virus alarm in St Bess as anti-vaxxers dig in their heels

Soaring coronavirus infections in the southwestern parish of St Elizabeth are a cause for concern for healthcare officials, with new cases rising 43 per cent over the last month.

Parish manager for health services, Sean Brissett has forecast tough times for St Elizabeth if active cases could not be contained and, ultimately, reversed.

“It seem as if something is happening that is driving our infection rate, whether it’s the new variant, but clearly in recent days after the Independence [celebrations], we have seen a significant climb in the number of COVID-19 cases,” Brissett told The Gleaner.

“My staff are tired and fatigued. Some have even come down with the virus themselves,” he said.

The pace of deaths, especially among persons as young as 27, has been described as alarming.

Brissett said that he has witnessed three deaths in one family in one day.

“We could see additional stress being place on an already-overburdened hospital system,” the St Elizabeth Health Services parish manager observed.

Brissett has attributed the spike in infections to recklessness among the youth population who have breached health and social-distancing guidelines, thus passing the virus on to their households.

“At some of the parties, they started out doing the right thing, like physical distancing and so on; but by the time they consumed a few drinks, then you see them hugging up one another,” he said.

St Elizabeth South Eastern Member of Parliament Frank Whitter agrees that the prevalence must be linked to the hosting of illegal parties and the flouting of coronavirus safety protocols by young people.

“St Elizabeth as a whole, and especially here in the south, is a strong party zone, and the young people indulge. That’s a fact, so I have no doubt that this is a contributing factor.”

Citing that he has teamed up with a People’s National Party councillor in promoting vaccination, Witter urged young people to get the jab.

Polly, a resident of Lacovia, was adamant that neither she nor her 16-year-old daughter, who attends a St Elizabeth high school, would take the vaccine, which she described as “poison”..

“If this is where she has to graduate from school, then so be it, because she will not take it,” she told The Gleaner, her daughter nodding in approval.

A Junction resident, who works as a supermarket cashier, said that she would not yield to the urgings of the minister of education.

“My two children will not be taking it. I can assure you, I will home-school them if I have to,” said the mother, who declined to disclose her identity, citing job concerns.

Notions like those could threaten the Holness administration’s goal of achieving herd immunity of 65 per cent by March 2022.

A total of 575,103 doses have been administered islandwide, according to the ministry’s vaccine tracker at 4 p.m. on Monday, but only 147,776 persons, or 5.2 per cent of the population, are fully vaccinated.

St Elizabeth’s data are not much more encouraging.

A total of 28,879 doses have been dispensed in the parish up to September 5, with 9,468 persons fully vaccinated. That equates to a full vaccination rate of 6.3 per cent, using the 2011 parish population census of 150,205.

Anti-vaxxer rhetoric is also rife among persons who in healthcare.

Barbara Gayle, a practical nurse of Junction district, is counting her blessings after beating COVID-19.

Home remedies

Gayle’s recovery takes on added significance because she has comorbidities that make her particularly vulnerable to severe illness and death. She suffers from an enlarged left ventricle, asthma, and high blood pressure.

The 64-year-old brags about not seeking medical intervention during her bout with COVID-19, preferring to tackle the virus with home remedies.

“I mainly focused on hot tea, hot soup, and locked down in my room, take hot baths, and inhale menthol crystals and olive oil to clear my nostrils, while continuing with my baby aspirin regimen, which already was one of my prescribed medication for my heart condition,” Gayle said.

“... Not even the health minister don’t know a thing about COVID, and him not observant enough to know. I could teach him about COVID,” boasted Gayle, who battled the virus for almost three weeks.

Crediting God for her recovery, Gayle said she is convinced that COVID-19 is not caused by a real virus.

She doesn’t believe that coronavirus vaccines are effective, although even she has taken her first dose.

“I did it to satisfy my daughter, who insisted that I take it. She was frightened after I caught the virus, and she wanted me to take the vaccine, so I tried to please her, even if I die,” Gayle admitted.

Brissett is optimistic that efforts to push back at the anti-vaxxer lobby are reaping rewards, adding that the campaign is targeting both young and old.

“We are seeing decreasing hesitancy on the part of the younger population since the deaths started to occur in that demographic. We have definitely picked up some momentum,” said Brissett, referencing the turnout at Type Three health centres and other vaccination sites.

ruddy.mathison@gleanerjm.com