UK office launches vaccination survey for returning students, residents

Cayman’s UK office has launched an online survey to determine the vaccination needs of residents and students residing in the UK who plan to return home for summer.

Cayman UK Representative Tasha Ebanks Garcia said the Cayman Islands government, through its UK office and its partners, is reaching out to Caymanians in the UK to determine whether those returning home over summer are interested in receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.

“It is a national priority of the Government to ensure all eligible Caymanians who want to be vaccinated are able to do so,” Ebanks Garcia said as she responded to Cayman Compass queries about the new online survey.

“The data will be gathered through a short survey; no identifying information will be captured and this work is not for the purpose of developing a registry. The purpose of this exercise is to get a sense of how many Caymanians will be returning over the summer months, how many of them are students, and whether they are interested in having the vaccine,” she explained.

Ebanks Garcia said having an understanding of the demand for vaccines by returning Caymanians will assist the government in making informed policy and operational decisions.

“Using the databases available to the UK office and its partners, this survey has been launched and anyone who has questions is invited to contact the CIGO-UK Office at [email protected],” she added.

She also addressed the vaccination issue when she appeared on the Cayman Compass weekly Facebook talkshow The Resh Hour on Wednesday evening.

So far there have been 76,379 COVID-19 vaccinations given in the Cayman Islands, according to statistics released Thursday afternoon.

Of these, 41,307 – or 64% of the estimated population of 65,000 – have had at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 54% have completed the two-dose course. Those results included 125 vaccinations administered on the Sister Islands.

Vaccinations continue tomorrow (22 May) at the Owen Roberts International Airport from 8am-11am and 12:30pm-4pm. A vaccination drive is also being launched this weekend on the Brac.

Those seeking a vaccination must present a photo identification showing date of birth information. Face masks are also required at the vaccination clinic.