 Meanwhile, the public is being encouraged to get vaccinated against the SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The available vaccines have been proven to be safe and effective in protecting persons from developing COVID-19 in severe forms, complications, hospitalizations and death. It is against that backdrop that the OECS Commission pulled resources for a regional drive. COVID-19 vaccines are a dose of the facts, a production or a medical professional throughout members of the organization of the Eastern Caribbean States OECS speak to their country's COVID-19 situations, the effectiveness of vaccines, among other things. OECS's program director of health, Dr. Avian Bamadou indicated that OECS member states have been battling waves of infections and these waves have translated into waves of severe illness, hospitalizations and deaths. Dr. Bamadou noted, however, where vaccine uptakes are high, the negative impacts of the virus are reduced. Where vaccine rates are high, severe illness, hospitalization and deaths remain relatively low even during a COVID-spiking transmission. Since the COVID-19 vaccines became available, countries are in a race to vaccinate their populations. The more developed countries have greater access to vaccines with the levels of and higher levels of vaccine acceptance. Our world in data provides interactive customized graphics which tracks the vaccination rates by country relative to population over time. Within the OECS, Angola is the most vaccinated of the OECS countries with approximately 60% of its population fully vaccinated. This is followed by British Virgin Islands with approximately 45% of its population fully vaccinated, next St. Kitts and Nevis with 41% of its population fully vaccinated, next Antigone Bebuda with 37%, Dominica with 29%, Montserrat 28%, Grenada 18%, St. Lucia 16% and St. Vincent and the Grenadines 12% of their population fully vaccinated. Family physician and St. Lucia Dr. Tania de Stang-Bobre provided an insight into her experience dealing with COVID-19 positive patients. She noted that symptoms among those who are vaccinated were less severe than those who were vaccinated. The family physician also addressed the issue of breakthrough infections and its impact on the confidence of people on the vaccines. I would like to call it breakthrough infections because it sort of intimates that we didn't expect infections with the vaccine. At no point in time did anybody say that vaccines would prevent infection. No vaccine does that. We've had measles, children who have been immunized with measles, mom and rebella come up with measles. We've had children immunized against chicken pox who come up with chicken pox. So we know that there are chances of infections even if you're vaccinated. However, what we know is that the vaccines, because of how they work by prime in the immune system, the infections are milder, fewer complications and the duration is usually shorter. So we are aware that the COVID vaccine will not work as well as people thought they would. But we're also seeing that the benefits are one, they are less likely to get infected. And if they do get infected, they are less likely to transmit the infection. And if they do come down with the infection, their disease progress is milder and shorter. Head of Health Promotions in Dominica, Mignan Rool Schillingford explained that Dominica has been managing a surge in cases. However, the vaccines have aided in that individuals who have been vaccinated have less severe symptoms if at all. The Head of Health Promotions in Dominica noting that some vaccination hesitancy is due to the belief that the vaccine may not have gone through the normal procedures due to the short period in which it was produced, provided some insight into the development of the vaccines. I want to continue to reassure the public of Dominica and also the other Caribbean OECS countries is that all of the vaccines that have been given emergency approval or approval, as in the case of Pfizer, have gone through the stages of development. And what are the stages of development? One, there's a computer algorithm that is used to model how the vaccine interacts with the immune system. So it first is a computer algorithm, then it is tested in cells in a culture and that is in a test tube. Okay, so I remember you, I know you remember when you did science at school, there were different things that you would do in a test tube. So that's what happened. From there, when they are satisfied with the information, they get moved to testing on animals. After animal testing, that's when they move to human testing. Now this human testing is done in three stages where they check the efficacy, they check to see how it works, what's the possible impact on humans and all of that. And these are done by many different and both different countries. This information, when they are satisfied now, is put together and sent and applied through the different licensure agency. In the case of America, is the Food and Drug Administration. And of course, in other countries, all those who are responsible for allowing this to be used and used. So the vaccines that we are receiving now that come from WHO, PAHO, you know, and approved by this agency, all of these have gone through these stages of development. As the region continues to fight new cases of the virus, health professionals continue to re-emphasize the benefits of vaccines in combating the COVID-19 pandemic. From the Government Information Service, Hamedi Mark reporting.