Slower uptake in COVID vaccines worries governor

The last scheduled batch of COVID-19 vaccines arrived on island from the UK today, meaning Cayman now has enough vaccinations to inoculate 90% of its adult population.

While there are now enough vaccinations on island to surpass the government’s goal of inoculating 75-80% of the population over the age of 16, Governor Martyn Roper, in a statement released today, said he is concerned that the number of people stepping forward daily to get their vaccines is slowing down.

As of today, just over 31,000 people – or 60% of the adult population – had received their first dose of the vaccine. There are enough vaccines here for more than 45,000 people, or nearly nine-tenths of the adult population.

The Public Health department also announced that, from today, people receiving their vaccinations do not need to provide identification to demonstrate that they are ordinarily and legally resident, although photo ID will still be required. This means that people visiting Cayman can get vaccinated here.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines on island have variable shelf lives of one to three months and must be used before their expiration dates, the governor said in a statement, and he encouraged anyone who has not yet received a vaccine jab to do so.

“It is good news that over 31,000 people in our community have had at least one dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and over 20,000 of those have had both doses,” he said. “However, I am concerned that vaccine uptake is slowing.”

He added, “As the vaccine has a limited shelf life, we have asked the UK to send a significantly reduced amount of a further 11,700 doses in the last scheduled delivery that arrives today from the UK.”

In previous deliveries, the British Airways flights have been bringing in up to 20,000 doses. In early March, the governor had said that 23,000 doses of the vaccine were expected on today’s flight. That number would have meant that there were enough doses of the vaccine for the entire adult population.

Roper said that before the arrival of today’s supplies, Cayman already had enough vaccines on island for 80% of the adult population (approximately 40,000 people).

“But as vaccine supply is still challenging, and many countries are desperately seeking supplies, it would be wrong to risk wasting vaccine supply,” the governor said. “If uptake increases we can request a further delivery from the UK.”

The release, urging people to get vaccinated, quoted research from the University of Oxford published in the Lancet Psychiatry journal today that suggests that getting COVID-19 is associated with a greater risk of depression, dementia, psychosis and stroke. The study of 230,000 COVID survivors estimated that one in three (34%) were diagnosed with a neurological or psychiatric condition within six months of being infected.

The governor stated in the press release, “We can only safely reopen our borders once the vast majority of the adult population is vaccinated and protected from the worst effects of this terrible virus. I therefore encourage everyone who has yet to be vaccinated to come forward now.”

In a recent political rally, Roy McTaggart, the leader of the Progressives, said 75-80% of the adult population would need to be vaccinated before Cayman reopens its borders and gets rid of mandatory quarantine requirements.

Chief Medical Officer Dr. John Lee was quoted in the release today as saying the vaccine will encourage safe travel and easier movement of people.

“We have been assisted tirelessly by the staff of the Health Services Authority and their Public Health team who have come out as stars in the management of the threat from COVID-19: I thank them and Owen Roberts International Airport for allowing us such a great space to use for the programme,” he said.

Part of the airport’s check-in area was transformed into a vaccination centre in late January, and has been the site where most of the people have received their shots.

The Public Health department expects that the airport site will close at the end of April, as by then most people are expected to have received their vaccines.