Vaccine hesitancy is seemingly not a major cause for concern at this time for the parish of Portland and Portlanders. According to the Health Parish Manager, people are more open to being vaccinated with the expanded brands of COVID-19 vaccine.

While acknowledging that there are some Portlanders who are still hesitant to get vaccinated against COVID-19, Parish Manager for Portland’s Health Services, Joan Robinson Mcpherson says majority of the people are now more receptive than before.

She says this is mainly due to having three brands of vaccines available for them to choose from. She noted that persons have been showing up to vaccination sites requesting their preferred choice and with a now wider age bracket that is able to be vaccinated, more persons are turning out. Mrs. Mcpherson notes that the popular brand of choice is the Pfizer which has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, (FDA), followed by the AstraZeneca jab.

She says there have been several instances when the influx of people was more than anticipated. Prime Minister Andrew Holness is expected to tour the vaccination sites in the parish on Thursday, September 9, as part of an ongoing sensitization campaign across the island.

More in this CVM Live story from Robian Williams: