VMT appeals for Community Outreach volunteers for vaccination campaign .

PHILIPSBURG (DCOMM):— The Vaccination Management Team (VMT), is appealing for volunteers to assist in the vaccination outreach campaign.
The VMT wants to emphasize that the current mass vaccination campaign will end on July 31st. Persons only have seven weeks left to come for their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine. With the current increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, it is critical that the community gets vaccinated.
The VMT is looking for the following persons to assist with registration drives, community canvassing, and Vaccination Pop-Ups. Interested persons can email the VMT Outreach Manager: Malaika Richards at: richards1130@gmail.com. The VMT is urgently looking for volunteers who speak Spanish and/or Creole, but it’s not a requirement. A stipend will also be offered to all volunteers.
The VMT recognizes that some still have questions or concerns regarding vaccination. For this reason, the VMT continues to offer information sessions to organizations, clubs, churches, and businesses, and you can apply by emailing: bvdmeijden@whiteyellowcross.org.
The VMT also plans a community approach with community canvassing and neighborhood vaccination Pop-Ups, and therefore motivated “boots on the ground” willing to contribute to the vaccination campaign on Sint Maarten is urgently needed for these projects.
The country’s current level of protection against the COVID-19 virus and variants is not sufficient to protect the community. The number of active cases is rising, and we’ve sadly experienced our first COVID-19 related death of 2021. We’re likely to see more active cases, more hospitalizations, more restrictions, and eventually a curfew and another lockdown if this trend continues.
This was the case on the ABC (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao) islands. As the infection numbers there rose, several persons passed away daily. Hospitals exceeded their capacity, which meant that regular healthcare could not be provided. There was a lockdown and curfew, which put an enormous strain on the local (tourism) economy, and travel restrictions were reinstated.
Sint Maarten has the tools available for free until the end of July 2021 to prevent this scenario. We only need to do it, and we cannot afford to wait any longer. We are stronger together, so become a part of the solution and sign yourself up to help with the last two months of the COVID-19 mass vaccination campaign.
Sint Maarten Protected Together.