PHILIPSBURG:—
Prime Minister Silveria E. Jacobs received her first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine today, Tuesday, February 23rd, 2021, at the White and Yellow Cross Care Foundation (WYCCF). Prime Minister Jacobs joins in as the first public official to take the vaccine together with health care professionals of the WYCCF, St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) along with other health care providers on the island as well as senior citizens.
As vaccines are scarce and we want to vaccinate as many people as possible we have to avoid any waste or spillage of vaccines. For this purpose, the WYCCF daily prepares a list of standby candidates to be invited for vaccination if doses are left over due to no-shows or other reasons. Over these last few days, the WYCCF has administered the vaccine to several family members of WYCCF clients on this reserve list including the Prime Minister. Since her 60+ uncle is a resident of the WYCCF, and there were doses left that otherwise would have had to be thrown away, the Prime Minister also received her first vaccination, to avoid spillage.
“Today, I got vaccinated together with my uncle who resides at the White and Yellow Cross Care Foundation. The procedure which included an intake, receiving the vaccine and then being observed for a period of 15 minutes by a nurse went smoothly.”
“I am aware, that even though more and more people are registering, there are still persons who doubt the safety and efficacy of the Vaccine. Today, I lead by example, and I took the vaccine. It is safe, and I encourage all persons to register to receive the vaccine. We can stop the spread of the virus and go back to normal again only if enough people get vaccinated,” stated Prime Minister Jacobs.
All residents on St. Maarten may register online for the COVID-19 vaccine by visiting the Government of St. Maarten’s website: www.sintmaartengov.org/coronavirus. Paper versions of the registration form will be available later this week at Collective Prevention Services, various doctors’ offices, Government Administration Building (Labor Affairs), the Public Service Center in Simpson Bay, and select pharmacies.
