COMMUNITY members interviewed by Variety are eager to receive their first or second doses of the Covid-19 vaccine.
58-year-old Isolde Echin, a professional house cleaner who is out of work due to the Covid-19 pandemic, received her first dose on Thursday afternoon because she intends to travel outside of the CNMI to visit her son and grandson.
She said even if taking the vaccine was not a requirement for outbound travel, she would still take it.
Echin said not only is the vaccine free and will protect her, it will also protect other members of the community, especially the manamko’ and those with pre-existing health conditions.
“I hope people take this vaccine… I just leave it all to God,” she said.
Marvin Buston, a 34-year-old accountant, also received his first dose on Thursday.
“I chose to get vaccinated because I believe that it is one of the best ways to fight the pandemic that we have right now…. It’s a matter of choice. No one can [force] you to do it, but for me, if you love your family, your friends, your community, then there’s no harm in getting the vaccine. Look at me right now. I just got my first dose and I almost felt nothing, so everything is good,” he said.
Regarding the recent cases of community transmission, Buston said it is his understanding that the vaccine does not prevent a person from contracting the virus, but it protects people from the serious symptoms of the virus.
“I think the recent community transmission cases should be a wake-up call for everyone. I know that vaccination has been in the CNMI for quite some time now, but people are just waiting and waiting. The recent community transmission is a call for everyone to not wait. Let’s get vaccinated!” he added.
Miyuki Ada, 29, and Nathan Litulumar, 32, also received their first dose of the vaccine on Thursday.
“We work in a restaurant, and we just want to make sure that we’re safe to serve the food and make sure that our surroundings are also safe,” said Litulumar.
Ada said given the recent community transmission, she was a little scared to take her first dose of the vaccine.
“But I’m glad I did it,” she said.
Even before the latest community transmission cases, “I think we still would have gotten the vaccine just to be safe. My mom is a cancer patient, and she got her vaccine just to be safe,” Litulumar said.
Religious beliefs
Variety also interviewed a community member who will not take the vaccine.
A 23-year-old woman who wished to remain anonymous said she totally respects everyone who is getting vaccinated, but due to her religious beliefs, she chooses not to get vaccinated.
“My belief is that in everything, there is guidance from God…. God is a merciful God and He wouldn’t put us through something that we cannot handle and come back from,” she said.
CHCC Family Care Clinic adult clinic physician and chief of staff Dr. David S. Grauman said he urges all his patients to get vaccinated.
But “there are…people who have reasonable concerns about vaccination. While some concerns have been caused by bad information — like a worry that the vaccine changes your DNA — many are asking, ‘Is it safe for me because of my underlying health conditions? I have heard about people having severe reactions.’ I have been most grateful to find that my patients uniformly are willing to listen to an explanation of the vaccine, and to my personal experience of having been vaccinated.”
Dr. Grauman added, “Unlike tales from the [U.S.] mainland, where groups of people thrive on misinformation, our island approaches the questions in a calm and reasonable fashion. The concerns of our people are reasonable, and reassurance and explanation are really all that is needed to help us move toward safety. We are indeed still very fortunate.”
The CNMI has received doses of the Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccines, and has prioritized vaccinations for the manamko’ and healthcare workers.
As of Wednesday, 9,715 people in the CNMI had received both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine
Of the 9,715 people, 9,090 were on Saipan, 268 on Tinian, and 357 on Rota.
13,541 people have received their first dose of the vaccine, of which 11,956 were administered on Saipan, 742 on Tinian, and 843 on Rota.
On Saipan, the Medical Care and Treatment Site, or MCATS, at the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. is a designated site for Covid-19 vaccinations.
Photo by K-Andrea Evarose S. Limol
