82-y-o begs Jamaicans to take the jab

Senior citizen Donald Lindo is pleading with Jamaicans to take the COVID-19 vaccine.

The 82-year-old Spanish Town resident says he needs more people to start taking the vaccine so he can feel safe again.

"Mi fraid a the COVID bad bad, because me know how dangerous it is. Some people don't know how dangerous the COVID is," he said. While Lindo has not yet been vaccinated, he said that as soon as his doctor says the vaccine will not interfere with any of his medication, he will get the jabs. The retired painter and carpenter told THE STAR that even though he is old, he is not ready to die.

"Mi fraid a it because at my age now, if me catch this a gone me gone, man. A dead me dead and me really nuh ready fi dead yet. Mi wah enjoy the earth some more," he said. Lindo says it is clear that the best way to combat the virus is to get vaccinated as the risks are high either way.

"Some a di people dem nuh wah take it, the other people dem a dissuade the other people say 'Nuh take it, it a go kill you.' The other one say 'Nuh take it, it a go make you sick.' And if you nuh take it it will kill you same way. So it better you take vaccine until them get a better vaccine," he said. As of Tuesday August 10, 345 persons were hospitalised with COVID-19, 35 of them in critical condition. The island's COVID death toll had also increased to 1,254, with 13 new deaths recorded. Lindo expressed his disappointment that so many people are not taking the danger of the pandemic seriously.

"Di people dem nah take the virus serious. Some say a joke thing but this nuh joke thing. Things weh a kill off people a nuh joke," he lamented. "People a get hospitalised and cyah come until certain period a time, a joke that? A nuh joke, so the people dem fi take this thing serious." He also commended Prime Minister Andrew Holness on the measures he announced on Monday to curb the spread of the virus.

"Some a the people nuh like it but them cyah get it as how them want cause the COVID a move faster than them," Lindo said.