Anguilla’s Premier, Dr. Ellis Lorenzo Webster, has made yet another passionate plea to those who are hesitant about taking the Covid-19 vaccine: “Today, we are confronted with a virus that is killing people. We have a chance to decrease the effects of this virus, to decrease the chances of being hospitalized and the chances of infecting others, if we take the vaccine,” he stated.
“We have a chance to avoid being sick and suffering and even dying. We have a chance to protect our innocent children who cannot take the vaccine. Yet, some choose not to get vaccinated. I encourage people to get vaccinated. Why? It is because I do not want people to get sick, or suffer or die.”
The Premier continued: “I do not want you to regret not getting vaccinated. I do not want children to get infected and suffer when they could not choose to be vaccinated. Children at this point in time have no choice. And I do not want you who refuse the vaccine to regret, when you get sick, simply because you choose not to protect yourselves and your children. So, it is OK to be angry with me; it is OK to not vote for me. But I implore you to vaccinate for yourself, your children, those students under your care, for your loved ones and for your community.”
To date there are no active cases of the virus in Anguilla. Speaking during the Government’s press conference on June 1st, the Premier said: “As of today, we have 9,499 persons registered for vaccination. Of those, 9,044 have had their first dose, and of those 5,513 have had their second dose. So we are going in the right direction. The last positive case recorded was on May 10th. Using two incubation cycles of 14 days each since then, would bring us to June 7th. If we have no more cases by that time, then we can say we have overcome the cluster.
“I want to thank the people of Anguilla. I want to thank the health team, the Royal Anguilla Police Force, and all who played a part in helping to contain and control the cluster. I also want to thank the medical team at the Princess Alexandra Hospital who took care of those three persons who were hospitalized. They have fully recovered, and we thank God for that.”
The Premier observed that Covid-19 cases worldwide were greatly reduced: “I want to once again encourage all eligible persons to get vaccinated,” he stressed. “Covid-19 related hospitalisations have been reduced all around the world. In the US, in particular, deaths have decreased significantly. This is all correlated with the increase in the number of persons that are vaccinated. So, I think it is incumbent upon us, as good citizens, who care about each other and who care about ourselves, that we get vaccinated and become immunised against Covid-19.”
