It was the youth’s turn to let their voices be heard during a discussion about the COVID-19 vaccine. The virtual session was held on July 2nd and was hosted by the Division of Sport and Youth Affairs.

The panel featured Vice President of the Tobago Youth Council Dayreon Mitchell, Foreign Language Educator Abeni Taylor and COVID-19 Response Team Member – Office of the County Medical Officer of Health (CMOH), Dr. Anthony Thompson. It was hosted by Caston Cupid.

Taylor, who received a first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, said she got the jab after witnessing her mother take it. “Once a certain fraction of the population gets vaccinated, things might return to some sort of normalcy,” said Taylor. “Being a teacher and being online for a year plus, I really miss the physical classroom.”

Dr. Thompson, who provided information from a medical standpoint, said the widespread risk of COVID-19 was the reason behind rapid production of the vaccine.

“Because of the magnitude of the threat, we’ve never seen something where so much resources from so many countries and so much research were brought together in one effort. And that’s why [they were] able to generate a workable vaccine in such short order,” he said.

During the discussion, Mitchell indicated that he was not hesitant to get vaccinated. “I realized that the only way out at this point in time is to be vaccinated. I don’t see any other solution. I don’t think the government would bring a vaccine to Trinidad and Tobago that is detrimental to our health,” he stated.

Mitchell encouraged young people to register for the vaccine. Watch the episode here: https://fb.watch/v/1Vve8nsYN/