PMH begins COVID vaccination effort

Dr. Caroline Burnett-Garraway, medical chief of staff at Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH), was the first person to receive the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine at PMH yesterday.

PMH Administrator Mary Walker said PMH is aiming to vaccinate at least 120 individuals per day.

Walker said the rollout will start at the Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre on Friday and at Grand Bahama Health Services on Monday.

Burnett-Garraway said she was “very excited” that she was able to receive the vaccine.

“I’m an emergency physician and so I do manage patients in the Accident and Emergency Department and there’s always that worry that I can be exposed, I can get COVID-19, I can take it home to my family,” Burnett-Garraway told reporters at PMH.

“And so, this is one tool in the fight that we’ve been going through in the past year with this pandemic in The Bahamas and worldwide and I’m so excited that, hopefully, we can soon get back to normal.”

She said she had no concerns about taking the vaccine even though some European countries halted use amid concerns of blood clots following administration.

Burnett-Garraway said the benefit of taking the vaccine outweighs the chances of getting blood clots.

“So, I encourage everyone, when your time comes, when it’s your time to take the vaccine, please get it and protect yourself,” she said.

Mariana Laing, chief telephonist at PMH, was also vaccinated yesterday.

She said she decided to take the vaccine because “I have underlying issues and I would really like to travel”.

“I want to bring some normalcy in my life, visiting family members, especially my dad — he’s 88 years old — and I need to be around him to take care of him,” Laing said.

“I have a son in the United States. I would like to visit him so [those] are my main reasons to be vaccinated.”

Laing, who has hypertension and lupus, said she has not seen her son in a year.

Last week, the Indian government donated 20,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to The Bahamas. 

Yesterday marked the official start of The Bahamas’ COVID-19 vaccine rollout.

Healthcare workers and uniformed-branched workers will be vaccinated during the first phase of the rollout.

Burnett-Garraway said a survey was conducted a few months ago that revealed that “definitely about 40 percent of healthcare workers” wanted to take the vaccine.

Katherine Rodgers, chief clerk in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, said some of her colleagues are considering whether to take the vaccine.

“Some, they have other issues and [say] that they would have to speak to their physicians,” she said.

“A lot of them are on the schedule to get the vaccine because I guess they feel like me also. From last year March to now, we ready to take these masks off.”

Rodgers said she wants to be able to hug her family again.

Walker was vaccinated during the pilot rollout on Sunday.

She said she is “very well” three days later.

“I was explaining to someone earlier [that] I just had — I guess you can say — mild body aches the day after,” Walker said.

“I just took Panadol and I’m fine. I just worked my way straight through it. I’m one of those persons who gets the flu shot every year. So, I’m great.” 

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