In this Jan. 22, 2021, fi le photo, used vials of the Pfi zer-BioNTech COVID-19
vaccine lay empty at a vaccination center at the University of Nevada in Las
Vegas. The U.S. government announced on Aug. 11, 2021 it will deliver Pfi zer
vaccines to the Caribbean. Associated Press/John Locher, File
Caribbean Life, AUGUST 13-19, 2021 3
By Nelson A. King
Brooklyn Democratic Council
Member, Farah N. Louis on Friday
thanked her constituents for her landslide
Primary election, stating that
she was involved in a serious vehicular
accident soon after the June poll.
“I wanted to reach out and thank
you again for your support in our June
Democratic primary,” said Louis, the
daughter of Haitian immigrants, who
represents the 45th Council District.
“We could not have won this race
without you.
“Though I have gotten the chance
to thank many of you individually —
by phone, or text, or in-person — I
apologize to those of you who have
not yet heard from me,” she added.
“As you may have heard, I was in a
serious car accident shortly after the
election.”
While she said she is “doing well
and on the path to a full recovery,”
Louis said her message is one of the
tasks that was delayed in the weeks
after the accident.
“Please know that, as we move on
to the general election in November
and my first full term in the Council,
I remain deeply grateful to all of you
— our amazing staff and volunteers,
the community and labor leaders who
supported the campaign, and all of
those who cast a vote for me,” she
said.
“Your trust and partnership are so
meaningful, and I know we’ll continue
working together hand-in-hand in the
coming years,” she added. “And there
is so much to do: expanding health
care and mental health care access,
improving schools and increasing
public safety, bringing a new women’s
health clinic, a new community
center, and more affordable housing
to our district.
“These are our fights,” the council
member said. “And just as we came
together to win on June 22, I know
we’ll come together to deliver the
change our neighborhoods deserve.
Together, we are so much stronger.”
By Nelson A. King
The United States Immigration
and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
announced on Wednesday its updated
policy to support noncitizen victims of
crime, including Caribbean nationals.
ICE said it will help victims seek
justice and facilitate access to immigration
benefits for noncitizens who
have been victims of crime.
“This new policy is designed to
improve victims’ ability to seek justice
against perpetrators of crime, including
in cases of human trafficking,”
the immigration enforcement agency
said.
Acting ICE Director, Tae Johnson
said the policy update “facilitates victim
cooperation with law enforcement,
enhances ICE’s criminal investigative
efforts, and promotes trust
in ICE agents and officers enforcing
our laws.
“It is ICE’s commitment to assist
victims of crime regardless of their
immigration status,” he said. “Through
this approach, we minimize the fear of
repercussions that enforcement decisions
may have on the willingness and
ability of noncitizen crime victims to
contact law enforcement, participate
in investigations and prosecutions,
pursue justice, and seek benefits.”
ICE said this new directive stems
from its leadership memorandum,
issued July 30, to review agency, directorate,
and program office policies,
procedures, guidance and resource
needs “to ensure that our activities are
carried out through a victim-centered
approach.”
Additionally, ICE also recently
launched the Victims Engagement
and Services Line (VESL), expanding
its services to better assist all victims.
By Danica Coto,Associated Press
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The
U.S. government said Wednesday that
it will deliver nearly 837,000 Pfizer
vaccines to Caribbean nations as the
region with limited resources struggles
with a spike in COVID-19 cases amid
violent anti-vaccine protests.
The Bahamas will receive 397,000
doses followed by Trinidad and Tobago
with more than 305,000 doses. Barbados
will receive 70,200 doses, while
35,100 are slated for St. Vincent and
the Grenadines, 17,550 for Antigua and
11,700 for St. Kitts and Nevis.
“The Biden-Harris administration’s
highest priority in the Americas today
is managing and ending the COVID
pandemic and contributing to equitable
recovery,” said Juan Gonzalez,
the National Security Council’s senior
director for the Western Hemisphere.
Thousands of specialized syringes
required for the Pfizer vaccine also were
donated, with officials noting that the
donations involved “significant legal
and logistic complexity.”
In addition, USAID, which has provided
more than $28 million to help
14 Caribbean nations fight COVID-19,
expects to announce additional funding
soon, according to a White House
official.
The Caribbean region has reported
more than 1.29 million cases and more
than 16,000 deaths, with some 10.7 million
people vaccinated so far, according
to the Trinidad-based Caribbean Public
Health Agency.
Among the hardest hit Caribbean
nations is Haiti, which on July 14
received its first vaccine shipment since
the pandemic began — 500,000 doses
of the Moderna vaccine donated by the
U.S. via the United Nations’ COVAX program
for low-income countries.
The country of more than 11 million
people has reported 20,400 confirmed
cases and 575 deaths, although experts
believe those numbers are severely
underreported given a widespread lack
of testing.
A National Security Council spokeswoman
told The Associated Press that
the U.S. “will send a signification
amount of additional doses to Haiti
soon,” but further details were not
immediately available.
On Wednesday, Haitian Health Minister
Laure Adrien said some 16,000
people in Haiti have been vaccinated
and that all of the country’s 10 departments
have received a supply of vaccines.
The announcement by the U.S. government
comes amid recent anti-vaccine
protests in Guyana, Antigua and
St. Vincent and the Grenadines, whose
prime minister was hit in the head with
a rock last week and was briefly hospitalized.
Meanwhile, two firefighters in Guadeloupe
were injured during recent
protests against a COVID-19 curfew,
according to a government statement.
A similar protest also was reported in
nearby Martinique, a French island of
more than 370,000 people that is reporting
1,176 cases per 100,000 inhabitants,
a spike that officials blame on the delta
variant and low vaccination rates.
Brooklyn Council Member Farah
N. Louis addresses ‘Cel-Liberation’
Rally. Brooklyn Council Member Farah N.
Louis offi ce
US to deliver nearly 837K
Pfizer vaccines to Caribbean
ICE updates policy to support noncitizen crime victims
Louis thanks
constituents