Aruba Prime Minister Evelyn Wever-Croes with some youngsters who came to Centro Libertador Betico Croes sports hall in Santa Cruz to get vaccinated.
ORANJESTAD--After last week’s arrival of 12,000 BioNTech/Pfizer vaccines from the Netherlands, the number of requests for an appointment to get vaccinated in Aruba has doubled.
More people want to get vaccinated now that the number of COVID-19 cases has gone up, and the Delta variant posing an increased risk. By Monday, more than 800 persons had made an appointment to get vaccinated in the next few days.
Aruba received a new batch of 12,000 vaccines from the Netherlands last week, meaning that there are sufficient vaccines to oculate a large group of people who was not vaccinated as yet.
Aruba Prime Minister Evelyn Wever-Croes urged people to get vaccinated, especially young people who are about to start the school year. “I appeal to the parents to take their children for a vaccination before school starts again. In this way, the children won’t be hampered in their studies.” In Aruba, the vaccination centre is at Centro Libertador Betico Croes sports hall in Santa Cruz.
Wever-Croes pointed out that in the past few weeks, the number of COVID-19 cases has been increasing a lot. From this wave, she concluded that the vast majority of the persons who get infected are not vaccinated, the limited number of vaccinated persons who do get infected don’t get very ill, even fewer persons who have been vaccinated end up in the hospital, and no vaccinated person has been admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU).
Last week, there were 19 COVID-19 patients at Horacio Oduber Hospital, of whom five in the ICU. That is the highest number since May 26. So far, 111 persons have died in Aruba as a result of COVID-19. The three persons who recently died were not vaccinated. One recent COVID-19 death concerned a tourist.
