Almost 200 medical professionals have signed an open letter in support of Covid-19 vaccination.

The Bermuda Medical Doctors Association said a total of 198 doctors, dentists, nurses and physiotherapists had added their names to the open letter, first released on September 23.

The letter was written after a survey of doctors carried out by the BMDA found that 95.77 per cent of respondents would recommend the Pfizer or Moderna mRNA Covid-19 vaccine for a healthy adult.

Wilbert Warner, an internal medicine specialist, said there had been an “unfortunate assumption” that those who had not signed the letter were against vaccination.

Dr Warner said: “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.”

A searchable list can be found at the bottom of this story.

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Full list of health professionals.pdf

Fiona Ross, a GP, added that doctors had been portrayed as either for or against the vaccine.

Dr Ross said: ““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.”

She added that many doctors had been asked the same questions about natural immunity or heard concerns about the vaccine’s impact on fertility and breast feeding and the use of anti-parasitic drug Ivermectin as a treatment.

Dr Ross said: “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.”

She added: “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.”

Louise White, another GP, said that people with questions could contact their doctors or speak to medical professionals at pop-up vaccination clinics.

Dr White added: “All the research and data has been a big learning curve for us as well.

“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.”