Cayman possible border reopening without quarantine by April or May!

[tridacna]

Right after my last post, this was released from the Cayman Compass. Gov't considers 5-day quarantine, mandatory vaccines for work-permit holders - Cayman Compass


Tony

Getting closer and closer. Hoping for Oct trip. Dumbass US CDC vaccination “cards” are WORSE than useless. Should have an obligatory anti-body test.

 

[AggieDiver]

This isn't necessarily specific to the Caymans, but at what point when trying to get everybody vaccinated do we just give up and say "fine, if you refuse to get vaccinated, we are going to open everything up anyway, and if you get sick and come in for treatment, we are going to turn you away."? This whole thing of holding lottery drawings and giveaways to try to meet some arbitrary percentage is silly to me. The people who will be harmed if the percentage isn't reached and the society reopens anyway are the ones who are not vaccinated, so let them take the risk if that is what they want to do. I also wonder in the case of the Caymans what percentage of the population is not dependent on tourism and would prefer to not see tourism resume? If they can hold out on the vaccine and keep the country from reopening to tourism, that is a win for them.

 

[drrich2]

This isn't necessarily specific to the Caymans, but at what point when trying to get everybody vaccinated do we just give up and say "fine, if you refuse to get vaccinated, we are going to open everything up anyway, and if you get sick and come in for treatment, we are going to turn you away."?

I don't think will happen, in terms of denying care on the basis of self-inflicted injury, as this means the sick person returning to spread the virus in the community, and isn't consistent with how 1st world countries deal with the complications of obesity and smoking.

On the other hand, I, too, have wondered at what point we presume those who want to be vaccinated can be, get on with our lives and let those who indulge paranoia lie in the bed they made? That is the question.

In fairness, this mindset only applies to 1st world countries with widespread availability, and let's be mindful a small subset may have contraindications, or be on immunosuppressive therapy so that vaccination doesn't work well. I am aware the counter argument is that just because a few people have to 'live in a bubble' doesn't mean the rest of us will.

I also wonder in the case of the Caymans what percentage of the population is not dependent on tourism and would prefer to not see tourism resume?

A rising tide lifts all boats, and a falling tide lowers them. Even someone with a career that doesn't directly rely on tourism (off-shore banking, perhaps?) may eat at restaurants and use other services, or have friends and relatives, where tourism matters. I'll be curious to see if any posters who live and work in the Caymans say this is an issue.

 

[boulderjohn]

On the other hand, I, too, have wondered at what point we presume those who want to be vaccinated can be, get on with our lives and let those who indulge paranoia lie in the bed they made? That is the question.

A study recently published in the Washington Post indicated that the dramatically lower rate of total infections and deaths in the USA masks the fact that in the USA, the pandemic is still raging at the same level as in January within the unvaccinated community. The study strongly suggests that the pandemic would be pretty much completely done in the USA if we had a higher vaccination rate.

I just checked several websites related to the Caymans. The data are not the same in each, but they have had about 580 cases and 2 deaths total, so the shutdown has been effective. Roughly 60% of the island is fully vaccinated, and at the current rate, it should be over 70% within a month. That is well beyond the USA's numbers, and close to what some experts have said would be herd immunity.

According to articles I read, vaccine hesitancy is a problem throughout the Caribbean, and it is the primary hindrance to a return of the tourism industry. The only article I found specific to the Caymans was more than a month old, but it indicated there had been a sharp decline in the vaccination rates, indicating a fairly large percentage of the population is resisting vaccination.

 

[tkaelin]

The study strongly suggests that the pandemic would be pretty much completely done in the USA if we had a higher vaccination rate.

Not many countries ahead of us and we are ahead of most.

According to articles I read, vaccine hesitancy is a problem throughout the Caribbean, and it is the primary hindrance to a return of the tourism industry.

From what I am reading, this is a world wide problem.

 

[kensuf]

The problem with the mindset of "the only people that will be harmed are the unvaccinated" misses out on the impact caused to healthcare systems by the sick. One of my co-workers told me that a childhood friend of hers died in India a few weeks ago. Not because of the covid surge, but because the person suffered a heart attack and there was zero capacity in the hospital (due to the covid surge) to handle her.

 

[Jcp2]

There are also individuals that would take the vaccine if they could, but are ineligible through no choice of their own.

 

[tridacna]

There are also individuals that would take the vaccine if they could, but are ineligible through no choice of their own.

In your estimation, what percentage of the population are willing but “ineligible through no choice of their own”?

 

[Jcp2]

At the current time, all children under the age of 12. People allergic to vaccine carrier constituents. People with compromised immune systems where a vaccine won’t help (not really ineligible but ineffective). Minors whose parents choose not to give permission to be vaccinated. There may be others.

 

[AggieDiver]

A study recently published in the Washington Post indicated that the dramatically lower rate of total infections and deaths in the USA masks the fact that in the USA, the pandemic is still raging at the same level as in January within the unvaccinated community. The study strongly suggests that the pandemic would be pretty much completely done in the USA if we had a higher vaccination rate.

I just checked several websites related to the Caymans. The data are not the same in each, but they have had about 580 cases and 2 deaths total, so the shutdown has been effective. Roughly 60% of the island is fully vaccinated, and at the current rate, it should be over 70% within a month. That is well beyond the USA's numbers, and close to what some experts have said would be herd immunity.

According to articles I read, vaccine hesitancy is a problem throughout the Caribbean, and it is the primary hindrance to a return of the tourism industry. The only article I found specific to the Caymans was more than a month old, but it indicated there had been a sharp decline in the vaccination rates, indicating a fairly large percentage of the population is resisting vaccination.

The problem as I understand it is that the Caymans only have a week left to get people started with their first dose, because the vaccinations they have purchased expire on June 30th. As of last I heard, they did not have plans to buy any more doses. So anybody who hasn't had their first shot by a week from today isn't going to get fully vaccinated. What are they going to do if the vaccination rate stays stalled and at the end of June they are at 65% or 68%?