WILLEMSTAD - The large-scale vaccination process in Curaçao will be scaled down in the coming weeks. This is what general practitioner Dr. Jerry Semper, medical coordinator of the vaccination program, indicated. According to Semper, about 200 to 300 new people are currently being injected every day. “In the beginning, it involved thousands a day. As a result, we see that the end of the process is approaching, and we will scale down the process in the near future.”
More than 83,000 people have now had one injection, more than 63,000 people have already had both injections in Curaçao. This means that the target number of 85 percent has not been achieved yet. Curaçao is on the same level as other countries, such as Israel, which seem to have Covid under control at the moment. “Not many people will join in this phase of the process,” Semper thinks. Reason, therefore, to transfer the process to regular care. “In a few weeks, there will still be vaccination in one place on the island. The mega locations will close in the coming weeks,” says Semper.
Neighborhoods
At the moment, the vaccination process has expanded into the neighborhoods. Information evenings are organized in various neighborhoods for residents who have questions about vaccination. During one of the information evenings, in the Buena Vista district, the turnout was not very great. A few people dropped in. In total, about fifteen people attended the information evening where they received information from Iralice Jansen, head of the vaccination process. According to Jansen, the turnout varies in the different neighborhoods, but is nowhere really large.
According to her, a few dozen people always show up. "Most of them also get vaccinated afterwards." According to a local resident at the information evening in Buena Vista, the turnout that evening is not very high because, according to her, almost 70 percent of the residents in this neighborhood lost their jobs during the second lockdown. “Many people from this neighborhood worked in the catering and hotel industry. They are now surviving and are not at all interested in vaccinating.”
Mobile vaccination bus
After the information afternoon or evening, a mobile vaccination bus will be parked in the neighborhood within 48 hours so that local residents can have themselves vaccinated in their own neighborhood. This mainly concerns people who have difficulty walking, had no transport to go to an injection site or who still had doubts. “We should have visited the twelfth district this Friday. Then we will evaluate and decide whether we will continue, how long we will continue and to which district we will go and which not,” says Semper. According to the doctor, it is quite an operation to enter the neighborhoods with a vaccination bus.
“You have to look at the net profit. Every shot is one, but it has to outweigh the entire organization, buses, registration and doctors on location with security. This weekend we will decide whether to continue and how to proceed with the vaccination in the neighborhoods.”
Young people
From this weekend, young people from the age of 16, who are in a high-risk group, can also be vaccinated with Pfizer. This group is started because there is not enough Pfizer on the island for all young people, since Curaçao switched to Moderna. “It concerns a total of thousands of young people. Our stock of Pfizer is not very large, so in consultation with the pediatricians, we start with young people with certain diseases. Then we make an inventory of how much is left, then we have to talk to the Netherlands about extra Pfizer vaccines to inject the other group of young people who are not in the high-risk category.” This weekend, the vaccination of young people will start.
Sint Maarten
On St. Maarten, the offering of free vaccinations will stop after July 31. The government of Sint Maarten announced this on Monday 24 May. Until then, residents can still get their vaccinations for free and without an appointment. Currently, 35 percent of the targeted 85 percent of residents have been vaccinated. From August, people have to register to receive a vaccine. In addition, there must be at least five candidates on the same day to be vaccinated, so that no vaccine has to be thrown away. According to Semper, vaccinations in Curaçao remain free. "We get the vaccinations for free from the Netherlands, so that has never been discussed here."