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Basseterre, St. Kitts, May 06, 2021 (SKNIS): Being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 comes with several benefits and protects citizens and residents from further health complications, said Dr. Cuthbert Sebastian Jr., Emergency Room Physician at the Joseph Nathaniel France (JNF) General Hospital while appearing on “Working for You” on May 5, 2021.  

“The benefits of being fully vaccinated are obviously the health benefits, which are you do not become severely ill from the COVID-19 infection, you don’t get hospitalized where we would have to put you on a ventilator and being on a ventilator comes with its own risk and own problems, and usually people who go on ventilators don’t tend to come off… and finally you don’t die,” said Dr. Sebastian Jr.

Dr. Sebastian Jr. advocated for members of the public to make use of the availability and accessibility of the current vaccination drive taking place across the Federation to achieve herd immunity, stating that persons are not fully vaccinated until they have received both doses of the vaccine. In St. Kitts and Nevis, as of May 5, 2021,13,283 persons have already had at least one dose of the Oxford AstraZeneca, and the roll-out of the second dose has already started.

Dr. Sebastian Jr. also indicated that a person with underlying conditions must be extremely cautious in regard to taking the vaccine and make sure that those conditions are well controlled with a registered physician.

“Educate yourself in whatever way you can, try to source the right information, double-check your information with reliable sources, and then you can make a decision based on that,” said Dr. Sebastian Jr.

There is currently a global shortage of COVID-19 vaccines. Luckily, the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis managed to secure enough doses for the Federation to utilize. The goal of the vaccination drive is to have at least 70 percent of the Federation’s population vaccinated to reach the herd immunity threshold.