Health
COVID Vaccines on the verge of Expiration and Dumping
By Dana Malcolm
Staff Writer
#TurksandCaicos, August 20, 2022 – The Turks and Caicos‘s islands have a very high rate of vaccine driven herd immunity but low booster uptake is putting it at risk and the islands may be approaching a vaccine dump if citizens remain reluctant; with some doses just over a month from expiring.
This is according to Acting Minister of Health E. Jay Saunders who explained that herd immunity occurred when 70 to 85% of a population was immune to a disease. Based on initial vaccination the islands would’ve been well above the threshold needed to secure herd immunity but compared to those early numbers barely anyone is taking their boosters.
There are 30 288 fully vaccinated individuals in the Turks and Caicos but only 7,272 are boosted; this is around 23 percent of the vaccinated population.
In terms of those who are double vaxxed the numbers are even lower, only 2,939 or around 9 percent of the population.
This is dangerous, Saunders said as it has been proven with COVID-19 vaccine that they have a tendency to wane over time and the majority of islanders were vaccinated more than 6 months prior- meaning lower efficacy.
It also means valuable doses are going to waste. When the Turks and Caicos’ COVID-19 booster program was rolled
out on October 4, 2021, the country was at the end of its fifth tranche of vaccines from the UK which was some 5,850 doses.
Between October and December a sixth and seventh round of vaccines were delivered to the islands from the UK.
While the government did not say how many doses were included in the sixth batch, the seventh had over 9,300 doses and another batch was delivered in February according to deputy Governor Anya Williams.
Each shipment of vaccines from the UK usually has exceeded 5,000 doses. Now, in August a little over 10,200 booster shots have been administered.
Dr Jeremy Myers, Deputy Chief Medical Officer in the Ministry of Health and Human Services confirmed that certain doses were set to expire in September.
“Doses in Providenciales actually expire at the end of September. We do know, especially coming back to back to school some people traveled recently. We do strongly encourage, while you are doing your back to school shopping, to get a back-to-school booster.”
Uptake is also low for pediatric doses, (children under 5) with only 162 children being vaccinated with the first dose and only 128 receiving a second dose. The acting minister did not give an update on the 5 to 11 age group which also received vaccines earlier this year.
Expiry dates for purple-capped Pfizer vaccines which the UK provides to the Turks and Caicos were extended an additional three months from their initial six month shelf life provided they were kept in the prescribed temperature and conditions. Orange-capped vaccines which the island utilizes for young children and grey-capped vaccines have a shelf life of one year. No Pfizer vaccine regardless of storage condition or dosage should be used after 12 months.
Turks and Caicos Islands have dumped Covid-19 vaccines before; nearly all of the 300 doses of AstraZeneca branded vaccines received in March 2021 expired due to low interest in the product.
Expiry dates are calculated based on the manufacture date and therefore must be discarded 12 months after being produced.
“We’re doing very badly as a country with people taking their boosters.— if you’ve been vaccinated try to get your boosters every six months,” urged Saunders.
February is National Self- Check Month and family medicine physician at Cleveland Clinic, OH, John Hanicak, MD, highlights why at home self-checks are extremely important when it comes to not just early cancer detection but identifying other illnesses too and offers tips on what to look out for.
“Sometimes I look at them as sort of like your check engine light on the car, just like there would be a red flashing light that tells you that
there’s something wrong with a car and prompts you to bring that in and get serviced. Your body does the same thing. It gives you warning signs to look into that symptom a little bit further,” said Hanicak.
Dr. Hanicak said self-checks are going to be a little different for everyone.
However, in general, he recommends looking for anything that may seem abnormal, such as unexplained weight loss, blood in your urine, bumps and bruises that won’t heal, and changes in bowel habits.
For example, if you suddenly start going to the bathroom a lot more than you used to, that could be a sign of something more serious.
He also suggests doing regular skin checks and documenting any moles or spots that start to look different.
“Realize that you are your own person. There’s nobody else in the world exactly like you. You’ve got your own set of ideas, your own family history and your own genetics. Know what is normal for you, and when that changes, that’s the kind of thing that we would be interested in talking about,” said Dr. Hanicak.
Dr. Hanicak notes that self-checks are not meant to replace cancer screenings, as those are just as important to keep up with.
Press Release: Cleveland Clinic
December 4, 2025 – Hollywood legend Bruce Willis – arguably the most famous former home owner in Turks and Caicos Islands – is facing the most difficult role of his life and turning it into one last act of service.
Willis, 70, retired from acting in 2022 after his family revealed he had been diagnosed with aphasia. The following year, specialists
confirmed he is living with frontotemporal dementia (FTD), a degenerative brain disease that attacks language, behaviour and personality.
In recent interviews and appearances, his wife Emma Heming Willis has said Bruce is “surrounded by love and care” and that the family is learning to find joy in new ways, even as the disease progresses.
Now, Heming Willis has gone further. In her 2025 memoir The Unexpected Journey, she writes that the family has decided Bruce’s brain will be donated to science after his death to advance research into FTD. That decision has been highlighted in recent coverage by futurist and science outlets, which describe it as a carefully considered step after months of watching a still-physically-strong man steadily lose speech, reading and independence.
Neurologists have long stressed how rare donated brain tissue is for FTD, and how essential it is to understanding which proteins, mutations and mechanisms are actually driving the disease. The Willis family’s choice means the brain that powered some of cinema’s most iconic characters could one day help researchers diagnose the condition earlier and design better treatments – even if it cannot help Bruce himself.
For Turks and Caicos, the story lands close to home. For nearly two decades Willis owned “The Residence” on exclusive Parrot Cay – a 7.3-acre, Asian-inspired beachfront compound with a five-bedroom main house, two guest villas and a yoga pavilion. He and Emma listed the estate in March 2019 for US$33 million; it sold a few months later for about US$27 million, one of the biggest residential deals in TCI history.
So, while Bruce Willis no longer has a physical address in Turks and Caicos, his connection to these islands remains part of his global story – a story now shifting from blockbuster fame to medical legacy, as his family turns private heartbreak into a public contribution that could change what we know about dementia.
Developed by Deandrea Hamilton • with ChatGPT (AI) • edited by Magnetic Media.
Deandrea Hamilton | Editor
Turks and Caicos, September 6, 2025 – COVID-19 fears in the Turks and Caicos Islands that once had residents on edge are now giving way to a sense of relief. The Ministry of Health and Human Services reports a dramatic reversal: from dozens of new cases in July to zero cases and zero hospitalizations today.
Between August 17 and 23, 2025, officials confirmed no new cases, no hospitalizations, and no new deaths. Just two recoveries were recorded, bringing the national recovery tally to 6,866. The total confirmed cases since 2020 stand at 6,922, with deaths unchanged at 41. Health officials say August has been relatively quiet overall, with 19 new cases and recoveries recorded for the month — a fraction of what the islands faced just weeks earlier.
The contrast could not be sharper. The most concerning bulletin came in mid-July, when the Ministry reported 54 new cases in a single
week. Ten were fresh positives, while the other 44 came from a backlog of April samples. At that time, two new hospitalizations were recorded, and the islands mourned one additional COVID-related death, bringing the total to 41. It was a sobering reminder that the virus was still circulating, pushing recoveries to 6,845 and raising the cumulative case count to 6,910. The July spike stirred fear among residents and renewed calls for vigilance, as community spread and delayed lab results painted a worrying picture.
Fast forward to late August, and the numbers tell a very different story. Not only are new cases negligible, but the hospitals are reporting no COVID-19 patients at all. Officials say testing continues across a wide range of categories, and the Ministry urges the public to stay cautious: wash hands, wear masks in crowded spaces, protect the vulnerable, and get vaccinated. But the tone now is one of optimism.
Since the pandemic began in 2020, Turks and Caicos has recorded nearly 7,000 cases in total, with 6,866 recoveries and 41 deaths. The islands’ small population means every case has felt significant, and surges like July’s were especially unsettling. But today’s figures suggest the country has reached a new stage: COVID-19 is no longer the disruptive force it was. The Ministry credits continued public vigilance and the accessibility of free testing and vaccines at government clinics. While the numbers are cause for celebration, health leaders are careful not to declare the fight over. The Ministry’s latest bulletin reminds residents to maintain hygienic practices, follow self-isolation guidelines if infected, and ensure vaccinations are up to date.
The pandemic may not be entirely behind the Turks and Caicos, but compared to the frightening figures of July, the near-zero landscape of August offers a powerful sign of hope.
The Ministry released the bulletin on September 2, confirming that for the week of August 17–23, no new cases, hospitalizations, or deaths were recorded — a sharp contrast to the surge just weeks earlier.
