Dear Editor,
I would like to encourage persons in the community to join the war against COVID-19 infection by registering and getting vaccinated against the disease.
An impressive number of people of all ages have already taken the vaccine, thanks to various promotions and public service announcements. However, there still remain many in the community who are adopting a “wait and see” attitude or are flatly refusing to be vaccinated at all.
I have recently had my second shot of the Pfizer vaccine. I respect the views of everyone, whether they choose to take the vaccine or not. However, I believe that unless more in the population take the vaccine than do not, there is a greater chance that COVID-19 will be around longer than necessary, and it may even give other variants of the virus a chance to take hold in St. Maarten, as they have in the ABC islands of Curaçao, Aruba and Bonaire.
Herd immunity makes it possible to protect the population from a disease, including those who cannot be vaccinated, such as babies or those who have compromised immune systems. Using the concept of herd immunity, vaccines have successfully controlled deadly contagious diseases such as smallpox, polio and many others in the Caribbean community. We can make part of the infusion.
For me, it’s all about herd immunity, which will make it more difficult for the virus to spread in St. Maarten.
If achieved in our community, herd immunity will allow us to move back towards pre-COVID normalcy and help protect vulnerable people and hopefully restore our tourism-based economy.
This is the main reason I made a point of taking the vaccine myself and I feel the need to share that with others, as other prominent persons and organisations in the St. Maarten community have done, as a means of supporting the various teams that are administering the vaccines in an impressive and efficient manner in St. Maarten.
My gratitude goes out to all the front-liners in the medical field.
Helen Salomons, General Director
St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation (SMHDF)
