by Mike Meranski
Fellow Grenadians, friends, colleagues, it appears to me that there is a huge problem with Grenada’s new vaccine protocols.
Forcing all arrivals to have TWO PCR tests within 72 hours is ill-conceived and counterproductive. No one wants to have their nose swabbed twice in 3 days (or less) which is what these new rules call for. In fact, if you were to ask your Dr [doctor] if it would be dangerous to do, especially if you have sinus issues like I do, he/she would probably say… yes? I would think that very few people will go along with this?
Either the Gov’t [government] requires the 72-hour PCR test along with your vaccine card that confirms you are fully vaccinated 2 weeks prior to arrival, or they demand the PCR test once you arrive here in Grenada. One or the other, not both.
If the Gov’t decides that just requiring ONE PCR test here upon arrival is sufficient for those fully vaccinated, Grenada will continue to receive its US$150 per person Covid Test income, which many refer to as a “Covid Tax.”
This is much needed for the MOH [Ministry of Health] especially if they want to purchase more vaccines for Grenadians. However, the biggest problem with the PCR test being administered here at the airport or seaport, would be the many hours you would have to wait while the MOH performs PCR tests for what we hope to be hundreds more arrivals daily. Another concern or potential problem would be the potential for exposure to Covid while the tests are taking place in the airport.
The much saner approach, less risky, and more likely to attract the number of visitors necessary to reboot our economy, is for fully vaccinated arrivals to have a negative PCR test 72 hours prior to arrival along with your vaccine card. WELCOME TO GRENADA.
Meanwhile, leave in place the current protocols for those unwilling or unable to vaccinate.
With this approach, our economy opens back up much more quickly, and more and more Grenadians will see the urgency of getting vaccinated as rehiring will increase dramatically with employers requiring a fully vaccinated workforce. We will continue to protect Grenadians from the virus as well as we did before, if not better, but now we will also be treating our economy which has been sick for 13 months.
The facts are clear. The numbers don’t lie. The vaccines are proven extremely safe and very effective and anyone telling you otherwise is blowing smoke.
May be the best solution is to go back to a PCR test within 7 days of travel to Grenada (that is a lot easier to arrange for a traveller) also if they were then PCR tested upon arrival here,, I believe that would be a more accurate than 2 PCR tests being done within 72 hrs.
Another point, how will they cope at the airport having to test 250 plus people upon arrival, that seems like something that will prove very difficult to process, what if 2 wide body planes arrive close together, chaos,
The problem of how many PCR test there are is not under just Grenada’s jurisdiction. For example, if the UK returns to international travel again on 17th May, I believe every one travelling will have to have a negative PCR test, prior to leaving the UK.So Grenada can not decide how many PCR test will have to be taken,, only how many PCR test you must have here in Grenada
.0001% chance you may get a blood clot from one of the approved vaccines while your chances of getting a blood clot from the Covid virus increases exponentially. The odds are clear. The choice of whether to vaccinate or not is simple math. Lets avoid all the drama and move the country forward .
1.5% of those infected with covid will still die from the virus today, while
.0005% of those who have been fully vaccinated may still get seriously ill from the virus and even less than that may die in what is referred to as “breakthrough cases”.
Most countries Covid Testing protocols require a minimum of 7-10 days before they will administer a second covid PCR test. Grenada is asking all arrivals to have two PCR tests within 72 hours.
These are facts , you can spin them anyway that you like.
So if the “vaccine” really worked why need a PCR test? Oh that’s right it’s still an experimental vaccine, my bad.
Dumb. You can still get and pass on virus even though vaccinated!!. It just hopefully protects you from becoming very sick and requiring hospitalization. Why don’t people educate themselves!!
Vaccines do not prevent persons getting nor spreading the virus. Fully vaccinated persons can still get and transmit the virus to other persons vaccinated or not. The advantage is that vaccinated persons are less likely to become seriously ill leading to death.
Mike Meranski. You are wrong. First, the vaccine passport does not GUARANTEE that you don’t have the virus. What it does mean is that you are less likely to be adversely affected by it.
Second, the vaccine is not “picture perfect”. As the promotional material on vaccines reads: “you have a 60%, 70% or 80% or 90% chance of being protected”. But you don’t have a 100% or absolutely perfect exemption from the virus. So for those who take the vaccine, you still have a chance of getting the virus. As is the case in Chile and India: just look at how the virus has spiralled out of control on those two country – and Chile has vaccinated at least 6 million or a third of its population.
But I do agree with you that incoming visitors and residents should have BOTH a PCR test and a vaccine certificate or would definitely have to go into quarantine. Please note that the reason for the additional PCR tests is that the PCR test is not 100% accurate. In an article published in the most prestigious medical journal in the world (The New England Journal of Medicine), two respected researchers pointed out that the PCR test was only 70% accurate. Which leaves a gaping hole in our health security system if we don’t do double testing in Grenada.
What is amazing is that foreigners, hoteliers and visitors object to the very protocols that are keeping our country safe and want to “break” them for their own convenience. I suggest that you go break them somewhere else.
Well said!!!
Mike, you are too sensible to engage with these people. They know too much and yet not enough. Although I am a native born, it is best to sit back, grab a drink and watch them climb a pole with greasy hands. They enjoy living in a stressful, oppressive environment that ignores common knowledge, sense, or reason. Once they realize Mandarin and Arabic are also official languages they will wish they had paid attention.
You summed it upbeautifully!
Visitors coming here, come knowing what the requirements are and accept them. The majority of people who would come and don’t like our requirements choose to go somewhere else. From a virus control standpoint, that’s great, but it is a disaster for the economy. Whilst a vocal minority want things to stay as they are… Others just want to get back to work…
I agree with the contents of this article and the reasoning used for his suggestion.
I mean where is the incentive for being vaccinated, I think that once the visitor has the proof of being fully vaccinated, they should only be tested upon arrival in Grenada.
If we want ppl to be vaccinated then incentives and motivators are necessary which in my opinion this article addressed adequately.
Sebastian. If you want to align yourself with someone else’s views, I would respectfully advise that you take the time to first determine whether their views are factual and reasonable in the first place. Otherwise, you would be “assuming” or taking for granted someone else’s point of view without checking it first.
I call that the “Facebook Syndrome”. Urhhh.
If they died of the vaccine or covid they can make it to Grenada So what are you worried about?
The real question is if you’ve been vaccinated and test negative can you still spread Covid to Grenadians. The answer to that is no.
Make it easy for those who are alive and vaccinated and test negative to come in and spend their money in Grenada.
Tell the people who have died how safe the vaccine is.
We did.
But as usual they’re taking their sweet time to respond.
Lol
You are the winner