‘Big Yard’ initiates community vaccine drive
ST ANDREW, Jamaica – The inner-city community of ‘Big Yard’ on Mannings Hill Road in St Andrew is recognised as an entertainment hub, but there is much more than what is seen on the surface.
The community members are leading the charge in convincing persons who live in what is often described as lower income areas to shed their fears and join the ranks of Jamaicans who are vaccinated against COVID-19 in an effort to help the country achieve the goal of herd immunity.
On Monday, during the no-movement day lockdown, a number of males from the community took the opportunity to visit the National Arena and took the jab, thus securing themselves a better chance not to be numbered among the growing number of casualties of the dreaded respiratory illness.
“Don’t be afraid, get vaccinated. We at Big Yard support the drive to get the majority of Jamaicans vaccinated and it is high time we the people support what is right and show that we care about each other. The males started on Monday and more of us, including women, will be going each day until we know that the majority of us who live here are vaccinated,” a prominent community member told Observer Online after taking his jab Monday.
The virus has taken millions of lives around the globe and locally the death count and infection rate have been spiraling upwards, leaving health care officials in a tizzy as hospitals are creaking under the weight of a heavy influx of infected patients.
Despite pleas from health care officials, the number of persons who decide to take the vaccine has been worryingly low and with the deadly Delta variant of the virus on the loose, the country’s health system is teetering on the brink.
“A lot of things have been said about the vaccines but what is going on in Jamaica now cannot continue. We the people have to take a stand. It’s only we can save the country that we live in. We see that most of the people who are filling up the hospitals are those who have not been vaccinated. We not taking that chance,” the community member said.
Big Yard, which is home to hundreds of men, women and children, has been proactive in tackling the virus since the onset of the pandemic. Last year, residents implemented a sanitisation station at the entrance to the community.
The community was the home of the popular Yea Yea Wednesdays dance which drew large crowds before the pandemic.