HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — The governor’s mandatory vaccination or weekly testing requirement for GovGuam agencies hasn’t been met with open arms among all government employees and the collective voice of those who’ve not been vaccinated seems to be growing louder.
Sen. Frank Blas, at a gathering on Saturday, said for people who aren’t vaccinated to call businesses to send a message to the governor’s office.
“You know all those restaurants businesses that you are no longer allowed to go into? Why don’t you give them a call and say, ‘You know guys, I’m sorry but because of the governor’s mandate you won’t be getting my business.’ What kind of message do you think that’s going to send to the business so it can be sent to the governor?” he said. “Because if she won’t listen to us, to you or to me, she’ll probably listen to them.”
His message follows a Friday press conference by Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero, the Physicians Advisory Group, and officials of the Department of Public Health and Social Services. She announced a mandate restricting movement of unvaccinated people, saying the battle this year isn’t just the virus but the island is now in a pandemic of the unvaccinated.
According to the latest executive order, next month, all staff and patrons ages 12 and older will be required to show proof of vaccination to enter restaurants, bars, clubs, gyms, fitness centers, dance studios, movie theaters, food courts, sporting events, boat cruises, and other events.
“This is necessary because we know in these areas, mask-wearing is compromised,” she explained.
The executive order has drawn negative comments from Blas and other members of the community, who’ve taken to social media to voice their concerns. Among their list of concerns is the right to determine what is injected into their bodies and the lack of full approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Even before Friday, Guamanians were balking at the mandate for executive branch employees to be vaccinated or get tested every week.
Some public school teachers have voiced their disagreement with the mandate, citing possible health issues or that vaccination should be a personal choice.
Michael Limtiaco, a member of the Consolidated Commission on Utilities, was critical of the proposed policy mandating vaccination or weekly testing for those who chose not to get vaccinated at the power and water utilities.
There is even a call on social media for a government walkout by the end of the month.
After the governor issued her order, the Judiciary of Guam issued a similar requirement.
Dr. Felix Cabrera, the chief medical officer of the Department of Public Health and Social Services, said vaccination is indeed a personal choice, but that choice should be weighed carefully against the well-being of others, especially those with whom you spend the most time.
“Over 85.2% of adults on Guam have participated in this fight by making the personal choice of getting at least one vaccine dose, all while nearly 18,000 of adults on Guam sit on the sidelines…not vaccinated while so many on this globe are literally dying for the opportunity to even have this ‘choice’ available to them,” Cabrera said.
The vaccine mandate, he added, is aimed at protecting agency workers and their workplaces, by ensuring the integrity and continuity of regular business, with the bonus of protecting their families and community.
“We all have a right to not be exposed to someone who purposely chooses to remain unvaccinated or chooses not to participate in regular screening tests. The risk to the masses trumps your inflated self rights,” Cabrera said. “It’s the same common sense as why smoking is commonly prohibited at work.”
Cabrera also said it is wrong to believe that the vaccinated can contract and spread the diseases, just as much as a person who is unvaccinated.
The transmission of the virus, even from the vaccinated, and the weekly testing requirement being limited to the unvaccinated was a discussion point among the CCU members during their recent work sessions with the power and water utilities on their vaccination policy.
But in order to spread Covid-19, a person must first be able to contract it, Cabrera said.
The majority of infections come from someone who won’t or has not yet developed symptoms, and the unvaccinated are far more likely to spread infections, according to the doctor, who was also speaking about the reason for weekly testing for those remaining unvaccinated.
Although there are breakthrough cases — infections even after vaccination — those represent an extremely low percentage of all vaccinated people who become infected, he added.
“This pales in comparison to the risk you put yourself, your loved ones and the public if you are unvaccinated,” Cabrera said.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that vaccine breakthrough cases are expected, and the variants of the Covid-19 virus will cause some of those cases.
The delta variant, which is now on Guam, is known to be more infectious but even here, the greatest risk of transmission is among the unvaccinated, who are more likely to contract, and therefore transmit the virus, according to the CDC.
Ultimately, it has been the unvaccinated who represent the majority of cases on Guam since the beginning of August, according to Cabrera.
“The percentage of total cases for vaccinated and unvaccinated can be misleading because it makes breakthrough cases seem like a higher than expected amount. You have to look at what population they represent. There are a lot more fully vaccinated on Guam than not. About 106,000 fully vaccinated vs. about 30,000 eligible, but still unvaccinated on Guam. Yet, it is these unvaccinated persons that represent the majority of the cases we’ve seen since the beginning of August,” he said.
The research and experiments behind the vaccines have been in development for more than two decades and the pandemic accelerated investment and development of an effective product, Cabrera added.
“We are in the midst of the biggest vaccination campaign in history with over 4.78 billion doses having been administered across 183 countries. All follow-up research has overwhelmingly showed both the first-class efficacy and relative safety. The results are in … the most researched and scrutinized vaccines in history have passed the stress test,” he said.
Individuals waiting to receive the Covid-19 vaccine stand in line that circles the second floor of the Micronesia Mall on Saturday afternoon.
