‘Use your influence to encourage vaccination’ – Health Min. urges Georgetown Rotary Club

With the pandemic still sweeping across the globe in stronger waves, Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony has urged members of the Rotary Club of Georgetown to use their influence to encourage persons to get vaccinated against the deadly COVID-19 virus.

He was at the time delivering a feature address at the Club’s first physical meeting held at the Georgetown Club on Friday night since the COVID measures were introduced.

There, the Health Minister stated that Guyana may very well be entering a “new wave” of the virus as over the past weeks, there has been a surge in cases and persons being hospitalised.

Dr. Anthony posited that the increase can be attributed to the new stronger and deadlier Delta strain that has wreaked havoc in other nations.

And for this very reason, he added, vaccination is important as it diminishes the chances of a person needing hospitalisation because of complications with the virus.

“Vaccination offers a very good chance of getting protection and that is why we need people to get vaccinated,” the Health Minister stated.

“This is my call to you, to get people involved in promoting the message of vaccination because we have many people who are distrustful of the vaccines and we really need more voices to encourage people to get vaccinated.

“We have our own sphere of influence and you can use it to encourage people to get vaccinated,” Dr. Anthony emphasised.

Already, Guyana has recorded over 600 deaths and the number of positive cases continues to climb. The government has been aggressively pushing its vaccination campaign with the aim of achieving herd immunity.

Though more than 50% of the country’s adult population received their first jabs of either the Sputnik V, Sinopharm or AstraZeneca vaccine, to achieve herd immunity, more than 80% of the population needs to receive both doses.

Meanwhile, the Club inducted the High Commission of India, Dr K.J Srinivasa, and the Mexican Ambassador to Guyana, Jose Omar Hurtado Contreras as honorary members while Humberto J. Lopez A and Luis Moya were inducted as new members. British High Commissioner, Jane Miller was also at the meeting.