By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

NATIONAL Security Minister Marvin Dames said yesterday his ministry is looking at several options to encourage more law enforcement officers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as hesitancy in taking the jab continues to be a challenge.

While he was unable to give figures on how many officers have been vaccinated to date, Mr Dames said he understands a number of workers have received their first and second doses.

However, he said there is a need for more to get inoculated amid high infection rates in the country and concerns about more contagious variants.

“I know that there are officers who are getting vaccinated,” Mr Dames said before going to a Cabinet meeting yesterday. “We wish more would. I don’t have the numbers in front of me, but I’m working on getting those numbers.

“We’re looking at ways to get more persons to get their jabs. That’s first and foremost and, you know, it’s just perplexing. People may have their views but at the end of the day, the science is clear and you know we’re looking at some options.”

This comes as some jurisdictions are mandating vaccinations for frontline workers.

Asked if the government is considering making vaccinations mandatory for law enforcement agencies, the minister did not give a definitive answer yesterday.

He only said officials are looking at ways to increase vaccination rates among law enforcement but did not detail what those possible initiatives might include.

“Well, we’re exploring some options,” Mr Dames said when asked about the issue. “I don’t know if we’re there yet but we’re looking at some options which is one of the things that we want to ensure that our agencies are not decimated and the way this Delta variant is spreading throughout the world, we want to be proactive as we would’ve been at the beginning of this pandemic.”

The push for vaccinations comes at a time when COVID-19 cases and virus-related hospital admissions are surging.

More than 16,000 cases have already been confirmed in the country since the start of the pandemic, with 2,966 infections still active as of August 15.

In a recent TV interview, Royal Bahamas Defence Force Commodore Raymond King confirmed more than two dozen marines on Abaco were placed under quarantine after being exposed to two staff members who tested positive for the virus.

“The way the vessels are constructed, persons live in close quarters, and so we are experiencing a surge in terms of where one or two persons onboard the various vessels, if they test positive, it requires us to quarantine the entire crew,” Commodore King said.

“So, that affects us adversely in terms of having ships available to defend the borders and to be crewed up. Suffice to say that we have had a few ships where you have had one or two cases on board, with consequent quarantine and a number of persons who also serve as crew members onboard those vessels.”

Yesterday, Mr Dames conceded officials continue to meet and have discussions about COVID’s impact and the way forward.

“We want people to get vaccinated. This is the key,” he said. “If you could imagine for example, let’s look at Defence Force vessels. Let’s say if we have four or five vessels out there and you have one or two persons on board those vessels, you have to shut down all of those vessels and so we’re looking at situations like that and we’re trying to avoid it.

“But we are taking every step to ensure that we keep those numbers as low as possible and two, when one person is affected and you’re working with 100 persons that means 100 persons have to go into quarantine so we’re constantly looking at ways to ensure that our frontline officers are not adversely impacted,” Mr Dames added.

At last report, 51,150 people have been fully vaccinated against the virus, while 68,323 have received their first shot.

Yesterday, Mr Dames said officials are hoping to soon make vaccinations available for inmates at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.

“I don’t have a date as yet although we would’ve discussed it and that’s certainly on the agenda,” he said when asked about the rollout of vaccinations for the group.