Concern over COVID-19 vaccination rates in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom except for Saba expressed by Dutch caretaker Minister of Public Health, Welfare and Sports Hugo de Jonge (see related story) is justified. St. Maarten ranked last among the six islands with 35 per cent of its general population, while 44 per cent of inhabitants from the age of 12 had received at least their first shot.
One should note that teenagers were only recently offered the injections originally intended only for adults. Encouraging them to get vaccinated has been made a priority.
Today’s call by the Teen Times crew on their peers to be role models in the pandemic and self-sacrifice rather than act selfishly is helpful in that regard. This is not just about vaccination, but also maintaining protective measures to prevent spreading the virus.
Perhaps even more important is not contributing to misinformation about the disease and vaccine. Social media play a big role in the latter and youngsters are very active on such platforms.
The ongoing socio-economic crisis sparked by COVID-19 may indeed be the biggest challenge this country has faced yet. To overcome it, both young and old will need to assume their responsibility.
