Remarks for Governor Lou Leon Guerrero
COVID-19 Press Conference: Vax n’ Win
Friday, June 4, 2021 at 2 p.m.
Håfa adai!
The people of Guam have been doing an outstanding job at containing the spread of COVID-19.
Our COVID Area Risk Score remains low. Today, our CAR Score is 0.5.
Our COVID hospitalizations are low. Today, we have 3 hospitalized between GMH and GRMC, none of whom are in the ICU or relying on a ventilator to breathe.
Our COVID-related deaths have ceased. It has been 31 days since our last moment of silence.
This is not by accident. This is because of each of you.
Last December, we received our first shipment of COVID-19 vaccines. Since then, we’ve set forth on an aggressive mission to vaccinate as many of our people as possible–starting with our most vulnerable, our manåmko’.
Once our vaccine supply allowed it, we expanded eligibility to younger residents.
We set up daily vaccination clinics in the north, central, and the south.
We partnered with private providers to give shots.
We went to schools, to churches, to worksites, and to the homeless.
We hosted drive-thru events and outreaches at the mall.
We have done homebound calls and ventured into vulnerable communities where residents are unlikely to seek medical care.
And we’ll continue with these efforts until everyone who is eligible for the shot and wants one can get one.
Back in March, I asked each of you to help us achieve our Path to Half–our mission to get 50% of our eligible population vaccinated–and you answered our call.
With a majority of our most vulnerable in the community protected, I felt comfortable relaxing restrictions.
Now, families and friends can gather in groups of no more than 100 people.
Restaurants and retail have resumed operations at 75% occupancy.
And vaccinated travelers are welcome into Guam, with no quarantine restrictions.
While this is significant progress in our COVID-19 response–and has enabled us to resume some semblance of normalcy–I call on you once again to take action–this time to achieve Operation Liberate Guam by Guam’s Liberation Day on July 21, 2021.
As of today, we have vaccinated 82,778 people. To achieve herd immunity, we are targeting to vaccinate as many as 80% of our adult population OR 96-thousand people.
That means we need over 13-thousand more shots in arms to achieve Operation Liberate Guam.
For those who have received their shots, I thank you for doing your part to protect yourself, to protect your loved ones, and to protect our island community. I ask that each and every one of you encourage someone you know who hasn’t received the vaccine, to consider it.
To show our thanks, our office, in partnership with the Guam Visitors Bureau, is proud to announce an incentive program we are calling “Vax n’ Win” for all our vaccinated Guam residents.
Entry is easy. Just log onto visitguam.com/vax and fill out a few short questions, including your name, how we can reach you, and the dates you received your COVID-19 vaccine on Guam. These incentives are available to ALL residents who received their vaccine on Guam–whether you received your shots back in December or you received your shots last week.
Starting June 16 and every Wednesday leading up to Guam’s Liberation on July 21st, residents 18 years of age or older who received their COVID-19 vaccine on Guam are eligible to win either 10-thousand dollars in cash OR a brand new car.
And for our vaccinated residents 17 years of age and younger, you will also be eligible to win great prizes, such as a $500 gift certificate from Micronesia Mall. These prizes will be paid for by a number of federal grants for outreach and incentive programs.
If you’re not yet vaccinated, there’s still time to get your shots. We have vaccination clinics throughout the week at locations islandwide. Once you’ve received both doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine OR the one-and-done Johnson & Johnson vaccine, you are eligible to enter. Simply log on to visitguam.com/vax and fill out your entry form.
Although Operation Liberation Guam is an aggressive goal, I wholeheartedly believe in our ability to come together for the greater good of our people. We have done this time and again–through World War II, through destructive supertyphoons and earthquakes, and through not one, but two surges of COVID-19.
The vaccine is free.
The vaccine is safe.
And the vaccine is effective at preventing severe illness, hospitalization, and death.
We need an ALL-IN approach to beat this virus–and we can do so by achieving Operation Liberate Guam.
Get your shot to win, but more importantly, get your shot to help rebuild Guam. I now would like to give the floor to Lt. Governor Josh.