Home All Blog Posts 198 Professionals Sign Letter Supporting Vaccine

198 Professionals Sign Letter Supporting Vaccine

Another 96 medical professionals have now signed a letter in support of the Covid-19 vaccine, with the open letter now having close to 200 signatories.

A spokesperson said, “Another 96 medical professionals have now signed a letter in support of the Covid-19 vaccine. The open letter, first released on September 23, now has close to 200 signatures, and counting. The island’s doctors are also working together to answer some commonly heard questions in a new series designed to promote having a healthy conversation about vaccination.

“This comes after the Bermuda Medical Doctors Association [BMDA] conducted a survey in August which revealed that 95.77% of the island’s doctors would recommend the Pfizer [or Moderna] mRNA Covid-19 vaccine for a healthy adult without contraindications.

Dr. Wilbert Warner, internal medicine physician, says: “There has been an unfortunate assumption that those who hadn’t yet signed the letter were somehow against vaccination, which is simply not the case. Some had not yet had the opportunity, and the list of doctors on the Bermuda register includes many that no longer work here, who now live abroad, visiting specialists or retired physicians.”

Dr Fiona Ross, local GP, added: “As a doctor, you are portrayed as either/or. You’re a slave to science who just wants to vaccinate or you’re a holistic naturopath, when the reality is the majority of us practice holism. We need to have a conversation about how these meet.”

“The doctors are seeing the same questions coming up surrounding hot topics such as boosting natural immunity, Ivermectin as a treatment, worries about fertility and the vaccine’s effect on breastfed babies,” a spokesperson said.

“So far the conversation around combatting Covid-19 has largely been led by the Government and we saw this as an opportunity to help speak to the public’s fears and concerns. Hesitancy is natural, especially when it comes to something unfamiliar and it’s important to take government out of the equation because there’s so much mistrust among people everywhere. This is not just specific to Bermuda.

“I don’t want anyone to feel forced into getting vaccinated. As a doctor, I want you to ask questions; I want you to talk to me; I want you to tell me your concerns; And I want you to know the benefits. People just want to know they’re going to be safe and if they fear the vaccine that’s really powerful. Offering streams of statistics going back to March 2020 doesn’t help everyone. These are people’s beliefs. Once you respect that, it becomes easier to have a conversation.”

Dr Louise White, Local GP, adds that are so many options out there, such as calling your GP’s office or visiting the Department of Health’s weekend pop-up clinics at The Hamilton Princess.

“All the research and data has been a big learning curve for us as well,” Dr White added. “More than six and a half billion doses of the vaccine have been administered worldwide. We’ve now got all this evidence out which emphatically demonstrates it much safer to be vaccinated against Covid-19 than to catch it when you are unvaccinated.

“The doctors still agree that the vaccine is our number one chance at beating the virus,” a spokesperson said.

“For all of us, vaccinated or not, it is not a matter of if we will be exposed to Covid-19, but when. Risking catching Covid when you have not been vaccinated is like Russian Roulette. It’s like betting everything you’ve got on red – and it comes up black. When it comes to Covid-19, we know that the elderly population do worse, we know that diabetics and co-morbidities do worse, but we don’t know why some fit and healthy 40-year-olds die, while others get away with a sniffle. We really don’t know. We do know that this is mostly preventable. We had to deal with the horror of the first wave, but now it’s preventable.

Dr Warner added: “I think it’s great that Bermuda’s doctors are standing up and saying this is what we believe.”

Full list of signatories below:

  1. Dr. Annie Pinto
  2. Dr. Wendy M Woods
  3. Dr. Andrew West
  4. Dr. Joseph Froncioni
  5. Dr. Jennifer Barth
  6. Dr. Annabel Carter
  7. Dr. Burton Butterfield
  8. Dr. Jonathan Power
  9. Dr. Kristen Woodward
  10. Dr. Nicola Terceira
  11. Dr. Benjamin Lau
  12. Dr. Laura Murphy
  13. Dr. Stephen Kenny
  14. Dr. Sylvanus Nawab
  15. Dr. Sophie Mathew
  16. Dr. Hannah Murray
  17. Dr. Edgar Griffith
  18. Dr. Kathryn Suter
  19. Dr. Cathryn Siddle
  20. Dr. Elaine Campbell
  21. Dr. Ruth Macdonald
  22. Dr. Milan Oleksak
  23. Dr. Joanna Sherratt-Wyer
  24. Dr. Michael Urdang
  25. Dr. Mahesh Reddy
  26. Dr. Jeffrey MacLeod
  27. Dr. JJ Soares
  28. Dr. Conor Ryan
  29. Dr. Shaina Kelly
  30. Dr. William Peckett
  31. Dr. Catherine Wakely
  32. Dr. Ranjini Patton
  33. Dr. Chris Fosker
  34. Dr. Sharon Alikani
  35. Dr. Mike Czerwinski
  36. Dr. Emma Robinson
  37. Dr. Suraia Barclay
  38. Dr. Louise White
  39. Dr. Constance Richards
  40. Dr. Patrick Murray
  41. Dr. Gordon Campbell
  42. Dr. Kim Foley
  43. Dr. Ramon Arscott
  44. Dr. Louise White
  45. Dr. Sarah Winstanley
  46. Dr. Wilbert Warner
  47. Dr. Maureen Burke
  48. Dr. Hayley Morton
  49. Dr. Sam DeCouto
  50. Dr. Chikezie Dean Okereke
  51. Dr. Joanne Lysack
  52. Dr. Ryan Bates
  53. Dr. Diane Kooiman
  54. Dr. Fiona Ross
  55. Dr. Ewart Brown
  56. Dr. George G. Shaw
  57. Dr. Andrea Curkova
  58. Dr. Alexander Romeo
  59. Dr. Eugene Outerbridge
  60. Dr. Margot Harvey
  61. Dr. Lynette E. Thomas
  62. Dr. Chantelle Simmons
  63. Dr. Marva V. Phillips-Williams
  64. Dr. Roslyn Bascombe-Adams
  65. Dr. Brenda Davidson
  66. Dr. Duane D. H. Pit
  67. Dr. Heather Kettenis
  68. Dr. Amy Gutman
  69. Dr. Samantha Price
  70. Dr. Stephen West
  71. Dr. Jonathan Makanjuola
  72. Dr. Richard Fulton
  73. Dr. Matthew Arnold
  74. Dr. Richard Hammond
  75. Dr. Kerry Brislane
  76. Dr. James Cappadonna
  77. Dr. John Gaugain
  78. Dr. Alicia Morris
  79. Dr. Simon Morton
  80. Dr. Andrew Spence
  81. Dr. Charles Swart
  82. Dr. Ayoola O. Oyinloye
  83. Dr. Anna Nielsen-Williams
  84. Dr. Daniele Williams
  85. Dr. David Wakeley
  86. Dr. Monica Hoefert
  87. Dr. Boris Vestweber
  88. Dr. Carla Reese
  89. Dr. Michael Ashton
  90. Dr. Annabel Fountain
  91. Dr. Phillip Bell
  92. Dr. Gordon Kooiman
  93. Dr. Basil Wilson
  94. Dr. Gerard Boonstra
  95. Dr. Cheryl Peek-Ball
  96. Dr. Brent Williams
  97. Dr. Christiane Lippeck
  98. Dr. Deborah Daly
  99. Dr. Akbar Lightbourne
  100. Dr. Shane Marshall
  101. Dr. Peter Maclellan
  102. Dr. Heather Montgomery
  103. Dr. Mandisa Robinson
  104. Dr. TerryLynn Emery
  105. Alyssa Frick, Occupational Therapist
  106. Bruno Teixeira, Physiotherapist
  107. Chloe MacDonald, Registered Dietitian
  108. Dr. Alex Fay, Dentist
  109. Dr. Alexis Mackenzie, Dentist
  110. Dr. Alicia Maybury, Dentist
  111. Dr. Alton Trott
  112. Dr. Ash Syed
  113. Dr. Carl Mackenzie, Dentist
  114. Dr. Carmen Rabain, Dentist
  115. Dr. Christopher Allington, Dentist
  116. Dr. David Samuels, Dentist
  117. Dr. Helen Christopher, Dentist
  118. Dr. Ian Campbell, Dentist
  119. Dr. James Fay, Dentist
  120. Dr. Janie Brown, Dentist
  121. Dr. Kevin Harney, Dentist
  122. Dr. Kiron James, Dentist
  123. Dr. Kyjuan Brown
  124. Dr. Lara Loesher, Dentist
  125. Dr. Len Wedlich, Dentist
  126. Dr. Lorna Hall, Dentist
  127. Dr. Michael Lopez, Dentist
  128. Dr. Murphey Osbourne
  129. Dr. Natalie Burdon-Bruce, Dentist
  130. Dr. Paula Estwick
  131. Dr. Peter Perinchief
  132. Dr. Raymond Swainson, Dentist
  133. Dr. Roddy Moore
  134. Dr. Ronda James, Dentist
  135. Dr. Stephen J. Sherwin
  136. Dr. Steven Cardwell, Dentist
  137. Dr. Takira Hypolite, Dentist
  138. Dr. Tamar Nasqidashvili
  139. Dr. Clyde Wilson
  140. Dr. Yusef Morant-Wade
  141. Alexandra Wilberz, Registered Physiotherapist
  142. Dr. Andrew Jamieson
  143. Dr. Celeste Maycock
  144. Dr. Fara-Jane Sebastian-Buankr
  145. Dr. Htay Myint
  146. Dr. James A. Fay, Dentist
  147. Dr. Jay Dennehy
  148. Dr. Joseph Yammine
  149. Dr. Keith Chiappa
  150. Dr. Keith McKenzie
  151. Dr. Michael Brooks
  152. Dr. Nevin Williams
  153. Dr. Nicole Hart
  154. Dr. Nisrine Atieh
  155. Dr. Peter Babeckas
  156. Dr. Phillip Jones
  157. Dr. Roger Wong
  158. Dr. Sam Mir
  159. Dr. Sein Aung
  160. Dr. Shamaila Shamin
  161. Dr. Wendy Outerbridge
  162. Dr. Michael Hawking
  163. Dr. Angela Marini
  164. Dr. Fermin Gonzalez
  165. Dr. Seb Henagulph, Psychiatrist
  166. Dr Keira Smith, Dentist
  167. Dr Frances Betts, Dentist
  168. Dr. Laura Henagulph, Clinical Psychologist
  169. Dr. Debbie Benson
  170. Craig Brown, Registered Physiotherapist
  171. Kate Kyme, Registered Physiotherapist
  172. Elizabeth Peckett, Registered Physiotherapist
  173. Hannah Jones, Registered Dietitian
  174. Hollie Cornick, Registered Dietitian
  175. Kathleen Mowat, Registered Physiotherapist
  176. Keelin Hankin, Registered Dietitian and Nutritionist
  177. Lizzy de Angelis, Registerd Dietitian
  178. Marie Fay, Occupational Therapist
  179. Nicola MacDougall, Registered Physiotherapist
  180. Rose-Anna Hoey, Occupational therapist
  181. Sally Teixeira, Registered Physiotherapist
  182. Sarah Williamson, Registered Dietitian
  183. Shara Crunden, Registered physiotherapist
  184. Stephen Lightbourne,Registered Physiotherapist
  185. Jessica Therrien, Registered Nurse
  186. Nadine Blake, Registered Nurse
  187. Maxine Herbert-Watson, Registered Nurse
  188. Synda Cook-Roberts, Registered Nurse
  189. Sharon Scott-Burchall, Registered Nurse
  190. Jessica Therrien, Registered Nurse
  191. Laura Law, Registered Nurse
  192. Nadine Blake, Registered Nurse
  193. Irena Ashton, Registered Nurse
  194. Hanah Cannon, Registered Dietitian
  195. Barbara McCreight Registered Nurse
  196. Myrian Balitian-Dill, Nurse Practitioner
  197. Yvonne McHugh Registered Nurse
  198. Miriam Hook, Registered Nurse

Comments

comments