Consultant Ophthalmologist Dr. Hazel Shillingford- Ricketts has made a special appeal to get vaccinated, particularly to Dominican healthcare workers.
Dr. Shillingford-Ricketts asserted in a Facebook post on Monday that Covid vaccination reduces the number and severity of illness and death.
“I appeal to our health workers, the standard bearers of our health service, to improve our Covid vaccination rate from 50% to 90%,” she said. “Then we can look our patients in the eye and encourage them to do likewise.”
“Our mothers did not fail us, let us not fail our patients. Get vaccinated NOW!” the veteran physician urged.
She also made the point that vaccines save sight too.
“Pregnant mothers who get infected with the rubella virus, can transmit the virus to their unborn baby,” the doctor stated. “This results in congenital rubella syndrome: blindness from cataracts and damaged retina; deafness and heart defects.”
As an Ophthalmologist working in Dominica from 1996, Dr. Shillingford- Ricketts pointed out that she inherited children blind from congenital rubella, but she has never diagnosed babies with blindness from congenital rubella.
“This is because Dominica implemented rubella vaccination of our children,” she stated, pointing out that Dominica has an overall vaccination rate in the high 90s%, one of the highest in the region.
“Dominican mothers choose to vaccinate most of their children,” Dr. Shillingford-Ricketts noted. “If only 50% of children were vaccinated, there would certainly be many blind and deaf children in Dominica from congenital rubella.”
Finally, she urged health workers to “think of your colleagues who have to work harder and longer hours because you are not there to help. Remember 90% of Covid admissions are unvaccinated.”
Thank you Dr Hazel Shillingford Ricketts for using persuasion to try and get some of the hesitancy out of some of the members of the medical fraternity so they can decide to change their minds and get the vaccine. Not all person will be convinced and some will allow their pride to prevent them from heeding your intervention. More medical professionals need to follow in your footsteps and reach out to their colleagues. Personal appeals can be more effective than public pronouncements but each has it’s place. I sure hope that President Charlo will take a page from your approach and apologize for his wrong idea of mandatory vaccination and instead try your approach.
The Times of Irael: “At least 75 high school pupils were confirmed to have contracted the virus at a Tel Aviv end-of-year party, after a student was infected by a vaccinated relative. That relative contracted the virus from another vaccinated individual who had recently returned from London, according to Channel 13 news.”
Vaccinated people are not stopping the spread!
@Facts, pointing to a miniscule number of unfortunate events doesn’t mean that the vaccines aren’t doing what they are supposed to do for the majority of the population. Some people who eat peanuts die does that mean peanuts are bad? Some people who receive penicillin die does it mean that penicillin is bad? Many some people die in airplane accidents does it mean that flying on a plane is bad? President George W Bush whilst watching football choked on chicken nuggets and almost died does it mean that chicken nuggets are bad for you? When one considers the hundreds of millions of people who receive the vaccines we are to expect that there will be some bad outcomes for some but these small numbers don’t make the case that the vaccines are bad. This is what happens when some person’s believe that once they can think then they can prove that vaccines aren’t good. Take the few cases in context of the whole before jumping to conclusions that’s why there is research and studies.
Geert Vanden Bossche (DVM, PhD) a scientist who has worked in the field of vaccine development, including GAVI and The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundaton for many years, wrote an open SOS letter to the WHO, stating that mass vaccination amidst a pandemic creates an irrepressible monster: you can find link to it from scientist’s website at the top: http://www.geertvandenbossche.org.
@Facts, isn’t it strange that all the scientific doctors in the world you can only find one to quote in trying to make a point and discredit the safety of the vaccines? It’s like you pointing to Rudy Giuliani and saying that here’s a lawyer who says that Trump won the election therefore he really defeated Biden. Information must be taken in context and analyzed against the whole of the information available to come to any conclusion about it’s merit. There is a lot of fake news out there and we all have to be analytical and use different sources before just believing what’s put out there by one source. There are credible sources and bogus sources. The credible sources have been around for a long time and have a reputation to uphold to survive. Some examples would by Reuters, AP news, BBC, NPR, Scientific American, the Lancet, the New England journal of medicine, the British Medical journal and more and none of them give credence to your doctor guy on Covid-19. Stop it.
DR Hazel Shillingford Ricketts is correct to encourage people to get vaccinated to avoid more infections ,hospitalizations and death from Covid plus creating the environment for the virus to mutate further and become more infectious
What is it that makes DR Hazel Shillingford Ricketts correct, is it her vocation, carrying the DR, is this how we are to distinguish what is correct and incorrect information because someone with a DR in front of their name, what has become of the word THINK and to question what is being told to us by people with credentials rather than blind acceptance no wonder we are in this mess. What has become of the power endowed to us by our maker to think and not be automations to authority.
:@Gary, the reason why we are in this mess with many people not wanting to take the vaccines is because people like you who don’t understand what you read are only thinking. You seek to discredit the messenger, Dr Ricketts, Who is a well qualified and experienced scientific doctor with many years of experience behind her and also her message based on science with your “Think”. Who ever qualified from a reputable institution and has years of successful practice in their scientific field simply by thinking? He who knows not, and doesn’t know that he doesn’t know, is a fool….shun him! You can’t tie the lace of Dr Ricketts or any other scientific doctor but because you can talk or write you believe it’s enough to make you intelligent and qualifies you to question the academic excellence and experience of learned people? You should be ashamed of yourself even if you are entitled to an opinion no matter how foolish and misguided. Science isn’t based only on thinking.
It can’t be the ‘DR’ otherwise YOUR PM would be always right as well. Oh no, I forgot, his is a fake one. You know what, you and your PM are jokers. Incompetent and corrupt ones!
Tell that to those folks on this board who have no background in medicine, but they all have opinions about the safety and efficacy of the vaccines. I don’t know why they even bother to visit their doctors if they know so much about medicine.
These people are sickening.
@zandoli – Since you PRETEND to know who here has a background in medicine or not, here’s something interesting for you to do.
Go back to the 1st line in this article. Take close note of the category of workers in this article whom Dr Rickets is trying to convince to take the COVID vaccine.
Ah, now ain’t it strange that a sizeable percentage of these persons who have studied medicine, been trained in medicine and who have worked in health care for years are hesitant to take the COVID vaccine?
Ask yourself the question WHY IS THAT SO?
This matter of vaccine hesitancy among health care workers is not unique to Dominica. This is also being witnessed elsewhere in the Caribbean and even in certain parts of the US etc.
It cannot be that health care professionals, persons who have studied medicine who are WISELY CAUTIOUS re: these new COVID vaccines – especially the mRNA type – are all IGNORANT (your favourite word).
Because of stupidity of social media and conspiracy theories
The vaccines offered in DA are not mRNA vaccines. They were manufactured using the more traditional method of research. By the way mRNA technology is over 20 years old.
Dominica please listen to medical experts who are on the cutting edge of current information. Also, you can read the studies for yourself.
You are correct regarding the vaccines offered to Dominica not mRNA vaccines- AstraZeneca vaccine is a viral vector vaccine. Then there are the Chines vaccines Sinopharm, Sinovac-whole virus vaccine. But that does not say they are safe and effective as you would like to portray. As to your claim that the mRNA, technology is over 20 years old, just totally “FALSE” Before 2020, no mRNA technology platform (drug or vaccine) had been authorized for use in humans.
Your comment also contributes to the debate, that’s how the truth is ascertained by sifting through information and questioning what is told to us by those in authority.
To Admin: I posted a comment with a video. I hope you guys post the comment. Looking forward to the post.
Great comment, bang on with your facts and observation. Comments like yours help bring balance to the debate, rather than the constant narrative being repeated to us 24/7.
Folks, there is a fallacy in this seemingly innocent pro-vaccine narrative:
“…Covid vaccination reduces the number and severity of illness and death.”
Folks, real world evidence shows that the vast majority of unvaccinated persons who get COVID are either asymptomatic or exhibit mild symptoms – with many not requiring any hospitalization to overcome the illness. Though the sample size in Dominica is small, how many serious or life-threatening cases from COVID do we have among the 209 cases (at the last update)?
Here’s the COVID Case Fatality Rate using today’s latest data: 4.32 million deaths/204 million cases x 100 = 2.12%. That means, 97.88% of persons who got COVID survived. An analysis of the 2.12% deaths will reveal that a significant percentage of the persons who died had pre-existing medical issues.
Dr Ricketts, PLEASE do not become a tool in this ongoing campaign to force people to take this new technology mRNA COVID vaccines against their will.
Nobody is forcing you to get vaccinated. All we ask is that you keep your ignorance to yourself.
I will trust Dr. Ricketts over you 10 times out of 10. You are not a doctor. Leave medical advice-giving to people who actual know something about medicine.
@zandoli – When I read the last line in your comment above, I had no choice but to chuckle.
YOU REALLY DO NOT HAVE ANY IDEA WHO I AM!!!!!!!
Toodles…
@ channel 1 only a person like Doc IP would talk so much crap
It is sad when well respected doctor like Dr IP, whom I love and respect would put politics ahead of commonsense. I guess next you will tell us is ganja thats the perfect solusion
I’m not a doctor and couldn’t be one if I wanted to. But people, it’s amazing to me with my limited “non experience” in the health field. That all these doctor of this, that, and the other, who are out there advocating for taking the vaccine; I have not heard anyone of these “Doctors” say anything concerning side effects of this drug, if there are any. These vac people still have to wear masks, keep their distance and wash their hands. There may be some false “security” with limited restrictions for those who have taken the vac. Such as, “Shoppers don’t need to wear mask if they are vaccinated.” Yes, I’ve heard this while shopping. These vac people could be putting too much confidence in the vaccine and letting their guard down.
@ Channel, you can continue to be ignorant until it hits close to home. Tell that to the over 600,000 people who have lost loved ones in the US alone.
You sound brainwashed
The thing about being stupid is this: Just like being dead, you wont realise it, but everyone else around you could see that you are stupid.
The UK where I live has reached 75% of the adult population vaccinated. We have now removed most restrictions and though 20’000 people per DAY are being diagnosed with Covid, this has NOT translated to significant levels of increased hospitalisations and deaths. In fact the people presenting to hospital with severe illness are either very old or have not had their full course of vaccination. So stop embarrassing yourself in front of the world, DNO is read in countries and lands far outside outside of Dominica.
Well the people who are hospitalized with the delta variant where I live are fully vaccinated. So ummm don’t get too comfy in the UK because delta and whoever else coming!
The Delta variant, having overtaken the Kent variant, has been dominant in the United Kingdom for several months now and was responsible for postponing easing the final stages of restrictions by 1 month. The vaccines are not 100% effective. No medicine or course of treatment is. Some will still get sick enough to warrant hospital admission, especially the old and medically compromised. Some will die. For the majority of people, the vaccine is working as designed. To say otherwise would be like suggesting that eating peanuts is unsafe because worldwide several THOUSAND people die from chocking and allergic reactions to peanuts every year.
So please, don’t appear any more foolish or misinformed in your quest.
ADMIN: The recorded figures are closer to a few hundred. The total for all food allergy deaths in the US are around 200 and around 10 in the UK. https://health.howstuffworks.com/diseases-conditions/allergies/food-allergy/peanut/how-many-people-die-each-year-from-peanut-allergies.htm
While there are unrecorded cases there is no clear evidence that thousands of deaths are caused by consuming peanuts each year.
GET VACCINATED NOW,that is the message should be,and must be.Any public place you got to you see,SANITIZE YOUR HANDS,WEAR FACE MASK,COVER NOSE & MOUTH,SIX FEET DISTANCE,WASH HANDS & FACE.you never see GET VACCINATED.Although I support the job the police is doing,they can do more.The public service vehicles,passengers and pedestrians should not PUBLIConly be targeted as PUBLIC.Churches,schools,supermarkets,financial instutions are also PUBLIC PLACES.Most of the people in those places serve the public without wearing a mask and the police NEVER go to those places to ensure they use masks,but they HARRASS the BUS drivers.