WESTMORELAND, Jamaica – Citizens of Westmoreland are being encouraged to take the COVID-19 shot as unvaccinated persons are still being hospitalised with the illness.

The advice came from the Medical Officer of Health for the parish, Dr Marcia Graham, during the monthly meeting of the Westmoreland Municipal Corporation held in Savanna-la-Mar on March 9.

“Since February 1, we have had 10 suspected deaths that we will be investigating as possibly being COVID-19-related. We continue to have unvaccinated adults being admitted to hospital, and so we still are encouraging persons to get vaccinated. We have the Johnson and Johnson vaccine. One dose gives you good protection and we have the Sinopharm as well,” she pointed out.

Dr Graham encouraged older citizens and persons with chronic conditions, in particular, to get the jab.

Meanwhile, the medical officer is encouraging parents of children 12 years and younger, to ensure that they are fully immunised.

“Some are at early-childhood and primary schools, and so we really will be looking at how we can identify all of these children and do what is necessary to protect them,” she said.

“Measles, polio and other such diseases, we can do without as a parish, and we have vaccines that have been effective in preventing these, and we need to ensure that we don’t have any vulnerable children,” Dr Graham outlined.

She added that the Health Ministry is collaborating with the Ministry of Education and Youth to reach unvaccinated children.

“May is Child’s Month, and so by the end of May 2023, the requirement is that all students need to have a copy of their immunisation record at the school because the Ministry of Health will be partnering with the schools to assess these records to see if all the children are adequately immunised for their age. Where there are gaps identified, we will fill that gap by administering the vaccines,” she informed.