Only 38 people were vaccinated against covid19 on Wednesday during the THA Division of Health, Wellness and Family Development’s community caravan.

The caravan visited Tobago’s northside villages, which include rural communities such as L’Anse Fourmi, Parlatuvier, Bloody Bay and Castara.

Newsday learnt that at the L’Anse Fourmi Community Centre, only 16 people were vaccinated. Twenty-two got their jab at the Castara Community Centre.

In L’Anse Fourmi, three people got a first shot of Sinopharm and one received the second jab of the vaccine. Five people opted for the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine and one student got the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine. Six adults also received their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine.

At Castara, seven people received their first dose of the Sinopharm and two people got their second dose. Four people got the Johnson & Johnson and three students got their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine. Six adults also received their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine.

Secretary of Health, Wellness and Family Development Tracy Davidson-Celestine is not daunted by the low turnout, saying the division is intensifying its efforts to reduce vaccine hesitancy through its community caravans.

“At this stage, we are literally going from street to street, door to door, one on one. Every person counts in our small population,” she told Newsday.

Davidson-Celestine said three vaccination visits have been planned for each community.

“We don’t expect to get everyone at the same time. Education and awareness is a process. And every single person who steps forward becomes an ambassador in their village.”

She said vaccine hesitancy is not a new phenomenon.

“We plateaued, as is normal in any cycle of vaccination. So we expect that we will see the uptake increase as the community caravans roll out. This is about personal responsibility, and we can’t play that role for the individual.”

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