A volcanic eruption on the Caribbean island of St Vincent on Friday has forced thousands of residents to flee their homes, but only those who have had the COVID vaccine will be allowed to evacuate to safety.
According to reports, more than 16,000 people fled their homes after the region experienced the first volcanic eruption in over 40 years. Six hours after the initial blast, a second explosion at the La Soufriere volcano followed.
Nearly 20,000 people have been forced out of their homes on the Caribbean island of St. Vincent after a volcano erupted there for the first time in more than 40 years.
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) April 9, 2021
Cruise ships are now evacuating people from the island — but only those vaccinated against COVID-19. pic.twitter.com/oPBCDHhSpa
Speaking with reporters, Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said only those who had received the coronavirus vaccine would be evacuated onto empty cruise ships being rerouted to help.
“The chief medical officer would be identifying the persons already vaccinated so that we can get them on the ship,” he said.
Evacuees who have been vaccinated will be transported to neighbouring islands, while those who have only recently received the jab will have to wait “a day or two” before being transported to safety.
“If people are willing to welcome you at a time of COVID-19, they will wish you to have the highest level of protection possible,” Gonsalves said.
St Vincent and Grenadines has administered at least 10,519 doses of COVID vaccines so far. Assuming every person needs 2 doses, that’s enough to have vaccinated about 4.8% of the country’s population.
In a now-viral post on social media, former vice presidential candidate for the Libertarian Party, Spike Cohen said:
A volcano exploded yesterday in St. Vincent, a small island in the Caribbean.
16,000 people reside in the “red zone”, and they need to evacuate quickly if they want to survive.
Authorities are moving to evacuate them…but only those who are vaccinated for COVID.
St. Vincent is a poor country, and less than 5% of their population has been vaccinated. As in most countries, the poorest are the least likely to be vaccinated.
During the entire pandemic, 10 people there have died of COVID, and the spread has been minimal for months.
So in order to slow the spread of a virus that has so far killed 10 people, they have essentially sentenced about 15,000 poor people to die.
If you think for a second that vaccine passports won’t be used to keep people from fleeing disasters and violence (in addition to preventing them from going to the store, school, etc.), look at what they’re already doing.
We may have just witnessed a glimpse at what’s in store for the ‘unvaccinated’ in the coming years.
