SEWA TT is hoping to reduce vaccine hesitancy in Tobago.
The charitable organisation extended its vaccine drive to Tobago on Sunday when it partnered with the Living Waters Community and Tobago’s Rotaract and Interact Club.
Dr Vish Beharry, the spokesman for SEWA TT, said since the closure of its mass vaccination site at the NCIC Nagar last year, the organisation has been going into the communities and seeking to tackle the problem of vaccine hesitancy.
Dr Beharry said, “We have recognised from our colleagues across here that the Tobago population is quite hesitant in the context of vaccines. Because we have had success in Trinidad in terms of outreach and going out to the communities and answering their questions and then they deciding to take the vaccines, we thought we could share our strategies with Tobago.”
Dr Beharry said propaganda and anti-vaccine movements have created a lot of vaccine hesitance.
“Our approach is to address their concerns, bring factual information to them, bring education to them about the real reason about the use of the vaccines, the real issues faced with COVID, the side effects and so on and address issues making them hesitant.”
Dr Beharry said SEWA TT can vaccinate around 280 people and was hopeful that around 50 per cent of the vaccines would be used.
He said apart from the COVID-19 vaccines, SEWA TT was distributing Tetanus, HPV, Chicken Pox or Varicella, Pneumonia, Hepatitis, Meningococcal and Yellow Fever vaccines.
Kaylee Lewis, the immediate past president of the Interact South West Tobago, said a lot of people in Tobago are in need of shots. Lewis said her organisation will be partnering with SEWA TT to make the event an annual one.
Blair Gopeechan, head of the project in Tobago for the Living Water Community, said vaccine hesitancy was also high among the immigrant population.
Gopeechan said Living Waters was on the ground getting in touch with migrants to get them to come out and take the jabs. SEWA TT gave jabs at the Colosseum Mall, Crown Point and at the St Joesph RC Church, Scarborough.