HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — As Guam’s recent Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations rates have gone from bad to worse, coupled with mandatory vaccination executive orders, the number of people lining up to get vaccinated has gotten longer than usual.
“I have to start thinking about everybody else, not just me,” said 30-year-old Kyle Cruz after getting his first dose of the Moderna vaccine on Friday.
It’s taken him a while to decide on getting vaccinated because of conflicting information out there about what the vaccine does, he said.
But the increasing number of cases and hospitalizations got him worried about his family, the Dededo resident said.
He has a 7-year-old son who’s still too young to get vaccinated. He also wants to make sure he doesn’t pass something to his parents and other family members.
His job entails coming face to face with customers and other employees, and then going home to his family at the end of the day.
At work, Covid-19 vaccination is highly recommended, he said, and most employees have already been immunized.
“Everybody was talking about health and safety, and it got me worried as well, what I’m bringing home to the house after the day’s work. Getting vaccinated is not just for yourself but most especially for your family,” he said.
The CTSI employee was among at least 620 people who got vaccinated on Friday at the Micronesia Mall clinic that the Guam National Guard operates. Other public and private clinics also vaccinate patients daily.
In just the first hour of the clinic, 116 people came in to get vaccinated, and 90 of those were for their first dose, according to Capt. Denise Chargualaf, task force medical commander for Joint Task Force 671 with the Guam National Guard.
Chargualaf said she’s pleased that more people are coming out to get vaccinated. The Guam National Guard is planning to open a second Covid-19 vaccination clinic, in the former Forever 21 store by the Guam Premier Outlets in Tamuning, to help ease the congestion at the Micronesia Mall clinic.
Just a few weeks ago, vaccination numbers at the mall were only a fraction of the more than 500 or 600 now seen daily.
With the spread of the highly transmissible delta variant, the high hospitalization rates and the governor’s recent orders mandating vaccination, the daily vaccination rate has gone up again.
As of Aug. 28, there had been a total of 10,155 officially reported cases of Covid-19. The CAR Score was 30, according to the Joint Information Center.
Protests continue
A few miles away from the vaccination clinic, there were dozens of people who protested the governor’s vaccine mandate.
With banners and signs in hand, they stood in front of the Guam Congress building and the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral Basilica in Hagåtña on Friday afternoon, waving at passing motorists and walkers.
The protesters wanted the freedom to choose whether to get vaccinated or not, among other things. Since last week, there have been peaceful protests against the governor’s mandatory vaccination orders.
For those like Cruz, he said he wished the governor would give more than three days for people to become aware of new policies.
He cited the governor’s Aug. 20 press conference announcing that starting three days later, people must show proof of vaccination before entering a restaurant or other venues.
“You can’t just do that with the amount of people here on Guam. Look at the appointment and walk-in lines. It’s kind of hard for everybody to get vaccinated because we don’t have enough people to give the vaccine, I think,” he said. But just the same, he urges others to get vaccinated.
On Friday, Aug. 28, Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero announced the temporary closures of in-person learning in public and private schools, as well as further limits on social gathering, effective Aug. 30.
Only up to 25 people can gather outdoors, and only up to 10 indoors.
Kimson Rekas, 31, said he and his partner Fumina Anton decided to get their first dose on Friday to get that added layer of protection against Covid-19, especially with their 3-year-old son who’s too young to get vaccinated.
Being fully vaccinated does not prevent a person from catching or passing on the virus that causes Covid-19, but it does reduce the risk of having severe symptoms and hospitalizations, medical experts have stated.
Keeping the job
Kenny Reklai, 39, said he had long wanted to get vaccinated but he said he was always busy with work at a Tumon restaurant.
But now that his own employer is requiring that employees get fully vaccinated, Reklai said the restaurant made sure they got the time to get the needed shots.
“They gave us an option of getting the shot or get tested every week,” he said.
Reklai said he’s grateful he got hired during a pandemic and is even more grateful for still getting 80 work hours every two weeks, so he wants to make sure he doesn’t lose his job.
27K unvaccinated
Nearly 80% of vaccine-eligible individuals on Guam, meaning those at least 12 years old, have already been fully vaccinated.
While that’s a high number, it also means there are still more than 27,000 people who are eligible to get the vaccine but have not.
Guam’s estimated population is 168,322, including those still too young to be given the vaccine.
Public and private entities have been beefing up Covid-19 vaccination and testing as new cases and hospitalizations continue to increase.
Michelle John, 21, said she chose to get the single-dose Johnson & Johnson Janssen vaccine so she could be considered fully vaccinated faster, and be able to travel to Palau for her grandfather’s funeral.
She would still have gotten her vaccine even without a death in the family, she said, but she held back because of a heart condition.
“So I was hesitant about getting the vaccine,” she said, but consulting with a doctor gave her the peace of mind she needed to get the vaccine. “Plus maybe later it would be required at my work. Right now it’s not required but they encourage everyone to get vaccinated. I’m among the only few that’s just getting it now.”
Military service members endure the heat as they vaccinate island residents during a drive-thru clinic at the University of Guam in Mangilao on Saturday.
