Yesterday at the pop-up vaccination site at Emerald City Supermarket in Six Roads, where the Rotary Clubs in Barbados came out to assist the Ministry of Health, Rotarian Dr. Beverley Agard was among those getting her booster shot. The shot was administered by Nurse Rosanna Springer.
Vaccination drive a success
Scores of persons showed up yesterday to get vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus, as the Rotary and Rotaract Clubs in this country joined the Ministry of Health and Wellness to host a pop-up vaccination clinic.
Close to an hour before the event was scheduled to end, it was still a hive of activity, and District Governor Sonya Alleyne said they were extremely pleased with the turnout. Speaking to The Barbados Advocate yesterday afternoon in the carpark of the Emerald City Supermarket in Six Roads, St. Philip, where the mobile vaccination pop-up was being staged, she said that a few hundred persons had already passed through to get vaccinated or even receive a booster shot, as efforts continue to be made to reduce the number of COVID-19 cases in this country.
Her comments came as she said that the support for the COVID-19 vaccine drive is in keeping with one of Rotary’s areas of focus – disease prevention. She made the point while noting that Rotary International and by extension the clubs in Barbados have a long history of fighting polio with the help of vaccines, and yesterday being World Polio Day, they decided to mark the day, doing their part to get another potentially fatal virus under control.
“When we got here at nine o’clock, there were people lined up waiting. I cannot believe how many people we have come out today to this vaccine pop-up site. For us in Rotary it’s an amazing day, it is World Polio Day; it’s the day that we’re known for around the world. We are the vaccine promoters for polio, so it was a great synergy for us to match polio and COVID-19 vaccinations. The response has been overwhelming; all day we had a lot of people. We had lines waiting, but the team has been able to push the people through, so that within half an hour most people who have come for the vaccine have had their vaccine, rested and gone,” she said.
Alleyne said even some persons visiting the supermarket to shop who were unaware that there was a pop-up vaccination site, took the opportunity to get vaccinated. Pleased with the success, she said Rotary is willing to see how else it can be of assistance to the Ministry of Health and Wellness.
“Through the Ministry, we have to find the right areas for us to be able to help in; but Rotary is that kind of organisation that you just tell us what you need and we’re there to take up the demand,” she indicated.
The mobile vaccination pop-up commenced at 10 a.m. and was scheduled to finish at 4 p.m. (JRT)