Daily Herald story

It's troubling to me that a lot of people are not showing up for their vaccine appointments and there seems to be quite a bit of resistance to taking the vaccine on SXM..

And a related story. Link Apparently the registration is going quite slowly.
Quite stunning to me that the King of Holland is 'waiting his turn', rather than being on an expedited list. That is really surprising to me..

In a way...it is not surprising. I know more people who will not get the vaccine than who will.

Cathy--Really? I only know ONE person who says they are on the fence about getting it. Otherwise, everyone I know either has had at least one shot or they are chomping at the bit to get it, once they are eligible.

I'm a bit surprised by this, too. Most of the people I know are praying for the day/time they can get their appointments and shots done. DH was able to get his early and is done and thankfully, I'm done with the first and patiently awaiting my second Moderna shot. I don't think I know anyone who isn't anxious to get their vaccinations at this juncture.

It's a huge problem here. People from all walks of life say they will not get the vaccine. Lots gonna drink bush tea and ginger. And some think they are invincible! However, we have only 17 active cases and no one hospitalized for months.

Elaine--I guess it is kind of a Caribbean thing. I saw where Theo's wife is apparently pushing the bush tea thing.

I read on one of the online pages that there are a lot of conspiracy theories going around on the island about the vaccine, one being that if you get it, you'll die with you turn 65. Also, I really like the way your government is reporting the active cases, instead of total cases as ours is. The fear mongering needs to stop. Not a political statement, and if my comment causes this thread to turn into that, I'll apologize now, and delete my comment if that happens.

Yeah, I agree this thread probably is destined to get political. Probably not a good idea for me to have even posted this.

Social media does not help. Although the high risk population are those over 65 you need as many as possible to get vaccinated to achieve herd immunity. I got my second shot about three weeks ago, no reaction to my first but the second hit me hard. To minimize a reaction you should hydrate the day before, something I did not do,

They do report total cases, you can find it on the government page. http://www.sintmaartengov.org/gover...CORONAVIRUS/Pages/Current-Situation.aspx

Sadly we had two Parliamentarians who conveyed to the people they would not take the vaccine because they were taking herbal remedies. Which may help with their immune system, but surely not a vaccine. One of our security guards has ordered a pill from PR that will protect her. She doesn't know what's in it. Someone asked me where they put the chip. It's all so sad.

Carol....most of my family...says they will NOT get the vaccine. Most of my co workers...say they will NOT get the vaccine.

You and I hang out on travel boards...we know how important these vaccines will be to travel. Most folks never go outside of the USA and could care less as long as they can go to Florida...(-:

Yes, I know that SXM does report total cases, but here in the US the emphasis is on total cases and not active cases.

Cathy, I can't agree that people who don't travel don't care about the vaccine. The only person who I know who is on the fence about getting the vaccine is my 87 year-old mother-in-law, and while I hope she does, I can't say that I blame her if she decides not to. All the rest of my family, most of whom rarely travel, have already gotten the vaccine or are planning to.

GAKaye... I agree with you...many folks do care about getting the vaccine...just not in my immediate world. I apologize I thought i made that clear.

No apology needed!

I guess the thing that is most troubling to me about the SXM story is how many people who apparently signed up and then didn't show up for the appointment, as now they are apparently scrambling to get all the doses administered that have been defrosted, so that some do not go to waste.

Good Morning, all:

Ahhhhh, this is a juicy topic. While I normally try to stay away from these types of conversations, it is Friday.

The last article I read stated that more than 30% of the US Armed forces that were offered the vaccine, refused. I found that both high and interesting that it was an "option" to refuse the vaccine in the military. Several articles have been penned on the "mistrust" of the vaccine within communities that could / would benefit most from it. The "anti-vaccers" (did I spell that correctly?) and the "Conspiracy" theorists are not helping the cause. No point in arguing their positions as most of those conversations end up collapsing into a hostile argument.

There is also a bit of history (within the US) on conducting experiments on the population without consent. Couple that with the immunity given to vaccine manufacturers within the US to be held harmless if there is a "whoops," and I - personally - can understand why some might be hesitant.

Some fun reading:
- The Tuskegee Study: https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/history/40-years-human-experimentation-america-tuskegee-study
- Radioactive Oatmeal: https://www.washingtonpost.com/arch...on/93894a5a-5844-4544-aca2-ffe4e52030b3/
- Germ Warfare Study in NY Subway 1966: https://www.washingtonpost.com/arch...66/70772a8b-8223-47de-99b4-876d5e57dd9c/

Personally, and it is a very personal matter, I am going to be a lager when it comes to getting the vaccine. Everyone I know who has had the vaccine (granted, my sample size is less than 10 so in no way may it be construed as a randomized sample,) has had medium or higher negative reactions (more so from the second shot) - these included but were not limited to: fever, chills, migraines and debilitating pain in the arm. I find it a bit troubling that it is difficult to find hard data on real world vaccination reactions.

I, and perhaps one or more of my family - being vague here as it is PHI after all, had COVID. I - and the hypothetical others - were very fortunate in that my COVID was literally a non-event - while theirs, hypothetically, was a very mild cold. The only reason I knew I had COVID is that I needed to test. I am struggling to find an understandable explanation as to why the vaccine protects me better than my own naturally developed immunity (if someone has what they think is a good read on this topic, please provide.)

I do anticipate that at some point the only way to keep one's personal liberties / freedoms will be to take the vaccine and carry proof of the same. This will most likely manifest itself in travel first. Since I do travel a fair bit for business and leisure, I anticipate I shall need to vaccinate by 3rd quarter of this year - at the latest. The EEOC ruled (fairly quietly I might add) that an employer may terminate an employee if they do not get vaccinated and it is a requirement to work (granted there were a fair number of exceptions in the ruling.) This may be another way to force those who do not wish to take the vaccine to take it. Only time will tell.

Let the name calling and finger pointing begin!

Warmly,
S&M

As I said, this was probably a mistake for me to post this thread, and I think I will move it to People Talk now, and we'll see how much longer it goes.

And everyone I know, including myself and my husband, have had very minimal or non-existent reactions. I do agree that it's a personal choice. I'm glad I made the choice that I did.

I understand the hesitancy. In my own family and my work place...it is purely political. It has nothing to do with race or gender. I do not argue....It is not my place to try to change someone else's mind.

I can tell you this...I do know several people who have had both shots...none of them had side effects that were any worse than any other vaccines. My husband says...by far the worst shot he has ever gotten was the second shingles shot...and we have had no less than 20 different kinds of vaccinations. (We have been to Africa). I am still waiting for my second covid shot.

Vaccinations are very personal...and I make no judgments for or against...but i can say this...if you want to travel...the odds are that in the near future.... covid vaccinations will be required.

Agree Georgia. Our only reaction so far was soreness if we touched around the injection site. Have heard of a few who were tired for a day or so, or had a headache. Happily awaiting our second dose.

Cathy--I agree, it is mostly political, which is a d*mn shame.

I can understand the Rasta group not taking the jab. They are vegan and go with natural remedies. The Haitian community on SXM believe in voodoo. It needs to be taught to the anti-vaxxers that this is for the greater good.

Sxmmartini... you are very right. Religious beliefs certainly play a part in the hesitancy ... and I am afraid I have no answers how we convince folks that the vaccines are for the good if all. In my family... we have anti Vaxers... these folks also home school... and religion is extremely important.

And now we have religious leaders telling people not to get the jand j vaccine.

here is an interesting graph that compares the side effects of Pfizer vs Moderna...i just don’t understand why the risk of these relatively mild non life threatening side effects will scare people into risking catching the virus, which is proven to be life threatening to you and those around you...not to mention that the side effects are mostly evidence that the vaccine and your body are doing what they’re supposed to

Pfizer vs Moderna

IslandBoi--I'm with you, as to why side effects which may last a couple of days would prevent anyone from taking it. Even in cases where the virus is not life threatening, there have been many cases of long term effects from the virus.

Interesting comparison of the 2.

Last week a lot of you were bashing long (term 3-6 month) visitors who signed up for the vaccine ; calling them selfish and insensitive people. I didn't comment about this last week as it looked like a LYNCH mob condemning these people. They all had to be at least 60 years old and have underlying health issues to get the vaccine. These people most likely own property and spend many thousands of dollars into the economy.
So before you all bash people ; maybe it would be better to know the whole story before becoming an angry MOB!

I would think the best way to schedule appointments for the COVID-19 vaccine is to overbook the appointments so if someone misses their turn there would be another body waiting to get his or her shot.

But what a nightmare if they all showed up. Yikes.

Still doesn't make it right.

Oh, I completely disagree. Can you imagine having an appointment, and arriving to find out the vaccine isn't available because they overbooked? A much better solution would be for people to be responsible and not make an appointment they don't intend to keep.

A friend of ours had both shots and what happened to her is one of the stories that fuel rumors and fear. She has tested with breast cancer, swollen nodes. I’ve tried telling her adult children it doesn’t mean that while the vaccine may cause swollen nodes the cancer may have already been there and not a results of the vaccine. But now they’re adamant they will not get the vaccine.

It does appear that swollen nodes is showing up in woman that have been vaccinated. If you do your own research on how mRNA vaccine work you will find that it is preventing the body from protecting itself from such.

RonDon--No, this is a case of people need to be INFORMED. I always get my mammograms in January/February timeframe. I called about getting my mammo this year, and they recommended that I wait for some time after my second shot, to avoid what is in this circumstance, in effect a false positive for cancer. NOT cancer, just swelling of lymph nodes, which happens all the time, for various reasons.

I understand exactly what you're saying. Best to listen to your doctor. Hopefully doctor knows your circumstances and will follow through with correct diagnosis.

Where I live, I am eligible for the vaccine. I have signed up, and will show up on time for my shot. Just like I did for my doctor-recommended flu vaccine, and for my doctor-recommended TDAP booster.

Interesting. I've had my appointment scheduled for some time and my mammogram is exactly two weeks after my second shot. How long did they recommend you wait?

Lymph nodes are there for a purpose. To collect and filter out bad s**t in your system.

Georgia--they were kind of fuzzy on timing. I saw something in the newspaper about it, which is why I questioned it. I believe the newspaper said up to 12 weeks, which is a long time. The lady on the phone here said 45 days. Best to call back where you are supposed to get the mammo and ask them the specific question. I got the impression from the lady I talked to that it was kind of a 'work in progress' about how long people should wait. I have it on my calendar to call them back a month after my second shot and check.

I'm just going to go ahead with the appointment, and if they see something they don't like they'll probably do an ultrasound. I have to believe that the radiologists who read mammograms can tell the difference between swollen nodes and cancer. If they're concerned, there are other tests to be done before a diagnosis of cancer is made.