HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Claire Mariano, 36, was wary about getting the Covid-19 vaccine, having heard claims it was risky, even as health experts said it’s safe.
“I honestly don’t want to get the vaccine. I don’t feel like I should get it, as long as I watch my distance, wear a mask and wash my hands,” she said.
But after realizing she’s now the only one at her workplace of more than 30 who’s not vaccinated, she went to get her first dose of the Pfizer vaccine on Monday at the Micronesia Mall.
“I don’t want to be known as the only unvaccinated at work. I don’t want to be blamed if something happens at work, if there are cases there and they would think it may have been from me because I’m the only one not vaccinated,” the ASC Trust employee said.
Her workplace highly recommends that employees get vaccinated, she said, but it’s not a requirement.
While she’s the last one at her workplace to get vaccinated, she’s the first one at her household of three to get the shot.
“I will try to convince them to also get vaccinated,” she said.
Some Guam employers have started requiring vaccination, and gave their employees ample time to comply, including First Hawaiian Bank.
The majority of employees at First Hawaiian Bank on Guam have already been fully vaccinated, senior vice president and Guam-CNMI region manager Ed Untalan said on Monday.
But on Friday, the bank’s main office in Honolulu announced that effective Sept. 30, employees will be required to show proof of full vaccination or undergo weekly Covid-19 testing. Untalan said this will cover all First Hawaiian Bank branches in Hawaii, Guam and the CNMI.
‘I was going to get it anyway’
Other employers have already made vaccination a requirement for new employees, such as Merily Finik, 24.
“I need to do it because I’m supposed to start working (Tuesday),” she said after getting her first dose of the Moderna vaccine. “I was going to get it anyway, but my employer said I should get vaccinated before I start working.”
Finik used to work at a restaurant but she had to temporarily stop in July last year to focus on her pregnancy. Her new employer is a retail store in Yigo.
Mikay Sos, 43, said he’s glad he’s able to get his second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine on Monday, hours before starting his shift as assistant kitchen manager for Jamaican Grill in Tumon.
Sos, who’s been with Jamaican Grill for 19 years, said he hopes more people will get fully vaccinated so that the government won’t have to bring back restrictions on restaurants, such as limiting their occupancy, especially now that Tumon is starting to see tourists again.
For others like 63-year-old Joseph Cruz, who said he works part-time at DeWitt Guam, it was the fear of the needle that made him wait this long to get Covid-19 vaccination.
He said he will surely get his second dose at the end of the month, even though it means dealing with the needle once again.
“It’s supposed to protect me from Covid,” he said.
There are still more than 31,000 vaccine-eligible residents on Guam that have not been fully vaccinated, and the government of Guam is trying to get them vaccinated. The governor ordered mandatory vaccination for executive branch employees and encouraged other branches of GovGuam and the private sector to follow suit.
The Guam Chamber of Commerce and other major business groups did not respond to questions about vaccination as of press time.
Joseph Cruz is pictured after getting his first dose of the Pfizer vaccine Monday, Aug. 9, at a vaccination clinic held at the Micronesia Mall in Dededo.
Claire Mariano is pictured after getting her first dose of the Pfizer vaccine Monday, Aug. 9, 2021, at a vaccination clinic held at the Micronesia Mall in Dededo.
