Barbados Racing Towards Herd Immunity
In our Blue Sky Luxury blog titled “Barbados Receives Vaccines” we shared the news of the generous donation of 100,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine from India on February 10th. By February 17th the vaccination programme was well underway with government officials and frontline workers receiving the jab. Our update today March 11, 2021, highlights Barbados is racing towards herd immunity for all Barbados residents.
Progress of Barbados’ Vaccination Programme
Although the daily numbers change, over 50,000 people—over 20 percent of the adult population of Barbados have received the first dose of the vaccine. Notably, this has been done in just a few weeks. Barbados leads the way in the vaccination process in the Caribbean. Currently, Barbadians over 18 are receiving the vaccine through a well-organized rollout by the National COVID-19 vaccination committee. The Barbados Government continues to invest in the future of our country and has taken the position that the vaccine will be distributed for free to all residents of Barbados. As a country, it is in our interest to get to herd immunity as quickly as possible, as our economy is so highly tourism dependent. While the elderly, those with comorbidities were the first to receive the jab, the villa workers at Blue Sky Luxury were included with the other front line workers on the priority list. As a tourism dependent economy and country, the reopening of tourism is critical and the only path to that is a fully vaccinated population. We have had generous support from friends of Barbados through donations and continue to raise funds to support this goal. Follow the Barbados Covid-19 Status dashboard to keep up to date on the countdown to herd immunity and COVID-19 related stats.
Myth-busting and the COVID-19 Vaccine
From 5G chips building Nanos in host bodies, to the vaccines not offering protection, there have been crazy stories on whether the jab is a giant hoax like Milli Vanilli (We still love Girl You Know It’s True by the way.) So far in Barbados, the robots have not taken over and the Prime Minister herself made a compelling statement to the press.
“I know that there are some people who have been doubtful. I think that more and more people are realising, well look, if 25,000 people have been vaccinated and everybody good, then a lot of what you are hearing on social media and a lot of these stories and things are an exaggerated version.”
Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley
On the international scene, The Daily Mail shared a report which stated that “A single jab of either Pfizer or Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is giving 90 PER CENT protection in huge boost to Britain’s world-beating rollout.” John Hopkins Center for Health Security carried the following update as well in their March 2, 2021 newsletter. “New Data Show Vaccines Reduce Severe COVID-19 in Older Adults (Public Health England) Today Public Health England (PHE) has submitted a pre-print of a real-world study that shows that both the Pfizer and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines are highly effective in reducing COVID-19 infections among older people aged 70 years and over. Since January, protection against symptomatic COVID, 4 weeks after the first dose, ranged between 57 and 61% for one dose of Pfizer and between 60 and 73% for the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.”
As Barbados continues to race towards herd immunity, we will keep you updated. We know our Blue Sky Luxury friends are eager to return to our shores. For some taking advantage of the 12 Month Barbados Welcome Stamp, a programme allowing visitors to work remotely and is renewable, we’ve had nothing but great reviews. Our fingers are crossed for Summer 2021 travel but most importantly for the health and safety of all Barbadians, travelers, and friends. Stay, safe and stay travel inspired.
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