RF&G’s Helps Community with Vaccination Drive
Several businesses have been conducting their own COVID-19 vaccination drives. Today at the Gordon House compound on Coney Drive in Belize City, RF&G Insurance collaborated with its partners to hold a vaccination and wellness clinic for the public. News Five’s Duane Moody reports.
Duane Moody, Reporting
As early as seven-thirty this morning, residents came out to get vaccinated; in most instances, it was their first jab of the Oxford AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. For Feliciana Rosales, she was at first concerned about getting the vaccine. She overcame that fear, and now after several attempts, she was finally able to get inoculated.
Feliciana Rosales
Feliciana Rosales, Belize City Resident
“This mawning when I get up and I check it, it is one 138/75 so I include all my kids and I say the pressure is good. So they say, ma are you going to take it and I said I think I should. But let’s hope when I reach at the spot ih noh reach up pan mi. Well thank God, the young lady tell me ih deh 130/60 something; ih say yo got young gial pressure. I’m like okay, well it is my time, it is my turn.”
Duane Moody
“Any hesitation with taking the vaccine for you?”
Feliciana Rosales
“One of my little issues I really was backing off sometimes and I wonder if maybe dah that’s why the pressure gone up when I come fi take it, I do have some numbness in both my feet and my toes. And they keep saying about blood clot and blood clot – so what if and what if. So I talk to more than one person this morning.”
Rosales went on to take her shot and after fifteen minutes of wait experienced no side effects and headed home. The vaccination and wellness clinic day was organized by RF&G Life in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Wellness and other partners.
Jerome Palma
Jerome Palma, Managing Director, RF&G Life Insurance
“There is a responsibility to get back to normal. We all want to get back to work, get back to life as what it was, but we also want our people to be safe and we feel that the vaccine is the way to go. It’s not going to probably stop you from getting it, but at least it boosts your immunity, it puts you in a better position. And we felt that as a good citizen, we have a responsibility to encourage and try to promote people to come and get the vaccination.”
Emir Castañeda
Emir Castañeda, Health Educator, Central Health Region
“We from Central Health Region Belize City, we are here to administer the vaccines to the public who are here around the neighbourhood or who knows about this activity. Health education is being given to them in regards to the vaccine, in regards to the side effects that they are going to get after the vaccine – the minor side effects if any. After the health education, then we proceed to register them into the system. We take all their details, their social security number and ask if they have any underlying conditions and after that they proceed to get the shot.”
The wellness clinic saw participation from other stakeholders who focused on nutrition and physiotherapy and how these services can be accessed.
Sergi Matus
Sergi Matus, Physiotherapist, Physio-Care Center
“We’re specialized in physical therapy which is something that people don’t really know about or if they do, they feel like they have no one in Belize that they can contact. The services we offer is a wide range. We tend to kids so we have paediatric services; neurological such as stroke, recovery from stroke. Orthopaedics which is a sports injury or sometimes it doesn’t even have to be a sports injury. If you’re walking and sprain your ankle really bad. You would get a doctor’s referral and then you can contact us and we set up appointments.”
Kristy August
Kristy August, Laboratory Technician, Publics
“Today, we are doing vitals and blood typing and urinalysis. We have a six days out of the week laboratory and doctor service at the clinic downtown. We provide lab tests such as full body blood testing; we do DNA testing, fertility testing and we do doctor consultation as well. The pharmacy is open as well there.”
Duane Moody for News Five.
Belize has just entered phase four of the vaccination drive. This is for public officers and transportation workers.
