The saga of Nicki Minaj’s cousin’s friend’s swollen testicles continue, along with the aftermath. Following Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh’s recent statements on the whole issue, which have now gone viral internationally, the Minister appeared on Trevor Noah’s “The Daily Show” to further discuss the matter. The episode is aptly titled “Debunking Nicki Minaj’s Swollen Balls Claims” and the interview with Minister Deyalsingh starts around the 7:39 mark.

At the Ministry of Health’s virtual Press Conference on Wednesday (15th September 2021), Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh commented on the raging controversy surrounding Nicki Minaj’s recent tweet about the vaccine.

​Nicki on Monday evening (13th September 2021) said on Twitter, “My cousin in Trinidad won’t get the vaccine cuz his friend got it & became impotent. His testicles became swollen. His friend was weeks away from getting married, now the girl called off the wedding.” Since her tweet, Nicki has faced growing backlash around the world for supposedly fueling “vaccine-hesitancy.”

Minister Deyalsingh on Wednesday said, “As far as we know, at this point in time, there has been no such reported, either side effect or adverse event. And what was sad about this, is that, it wasted our time yesterday.” He added, “As we stand now, there is absolutely no reported such side effect or adverse event of testicular swelling in Trinidad....none that we know of anywhere else in the world.”

This is a developing story - refresh this page for updates.

Reuters is reporting that two (2) sources “familiar with the situation” revealed on Friday (10th September 2021) that Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine could be authorized for children aged five (5) to eleven (11) years old by the end of October.

According to Reuters, the sources said this timeline is based on the expectation that Pfizer, which developed the shot with Germany’s BioNTech, “will have enough data from clinical trials to seek Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for that age group” from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) towards the end of this month.

The sources anticipate the FDA could make a decision on whether the shot is safe and effective in younger children within three (3) weeks of the EUA submission.

[Source: Reuters]

The donation of 82,030 doses of World Health Organization (WHO) approved AstraZeneca vaccines from Canada arrived at Piarco International Airport at 3:33pm this afternoon (Thursday 5th August 2021). Minister of Health, Terrence Deyalsingh, was on hand to receive the vaccines.

The arrival was announced by Minister of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs, Amery Browne, on his personal Facebook profile. “At 3:33pm today, 82,030 doses of WHO-approved AstraZeneca vaccine arrived in T&T, generously donated by the Government of Canada.”

The Government of Canada said on Wednesday (4th August 2021) that these AstraZeneca doses had already arrived in Canada, but were in excess of their domestic needs. “Trinidad and Tobago was selected to receive these doses based on need and the country’s capacity to deploy them immediately, minimizing wastage, and maximizing the public health impact.”

The administration of United States President, Joe Biden, is developing a plan to require nearly all foreign visitors to the U.S. to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before entry. The move would be part of eventually lifting travel restrictions that currently bar much of the World from entering the U.S. Foreign visitors will have to therefore show proof of vaccination in order to enter the U.S. if the plan does in fact go through.

However, the White House is not ready to immediately lift these travel restrictions because of the rising COVID-19 case load, mostly due to the Delta variant, according to an Official who spoke with Reuters. There have been worldwide concerns about the more contagious Delta variant of the virus. The Biden administration has inter-agency working groups working “in order to have a new system ready for when we can reopen travel,” the Official said. The source added it includes “a phased approach that over time will mean, with limited exceptions, that foreign nationals traveling to the United States [from all countries] need to be fully vaccinated.”

The U.S. border remains closed to twenty-six (26) European countries, the U.K., Iran, China, South Africa, Brazil and India because of COVID-19 concerns. Some of the border bans have not been updated since they were put in place back in March 2020 when the Pandemic first began.

The White House has been asked frequently when travel restrictions might be lifted.
On Tuesday (3rd August 2021), White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was asked why unvaccinated individuals from other parts of the World were allowed to travel into the U.S., but vaccinated individuals from Europe and other banned countries weren't allowed in.

She replied, “I would certainly point you to our health and medical teams who make these decisions and evaluate what we need to do, from a public health perspective, to keep the American people safe at a time where the Delta variant is rising, and one where we are very cognizant about keeping the American people safe.”

​President Biden has been facing mounting pressure to lift the travel ban - including from travel industry groups and lawmakers in his own party.

On Monday (2nd August 2021), the United Kingdom announced that fully vaccinated travelers from the U.S. and the European Union would be allowed back into the country without having to quarantine for ten (10) days. Meanwhile, the European Union re-opened its borders to American tourists in June.

The White House has been pushing local authorities and businesses to mandate vaccines for their work forces and customers.

[Source: Daily Mail]

The Ministry of Foreign And CARICOM Affairs said the Government of Trinidad and Tobago has accepted the “generous offer” of 82,030 doses of World Health Organization (WHO) approved COVID-19 vaccines from the Government of Canada. The Government of Canada announced the donation of AstraZeneca vaccines to T&T on Wednesday (4th August 2021).

In a Media Release, the Ministry of Foreign And CARICOM Affairs states, “The consignment of these AstraZeneca vaccines is scheduled to arrive in Trinidad and Tobago from Canada on the afternoon of Thursday 5th August 2021. This donation comes subsequent to advocacy engaged by Prime Minister the Honourable Dr. Keith Rowley via direct correspondence to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau earlier this year, and subsequent to consistent diplomacy and dialogue between Minister of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs Dr. Amery Browne, his Canadian counterpart Minister Marc Garneau, and the High Commissioner of Canada to Trinidad and Tobago H.E. Kumar Gupta.”

Minister Browne expressed the sincere gratitude of the Government and People of Trinidad and Tobago to the Government and People of Canada, and noted that this marks the first occasion that Canada has shared COVID-19 vaccines directly with any nation, outside of its prior sharing via COVAX.

“The Government of Trinidad and Tobago continues the acquisition of WHO-approved COVID-19 vaccines for the population, and the Ministry of Health will be utilizing these vaccines within its national vaccine rollout. The Government also advises that further progress has been made toward finalization of vaccines from the United States of America's vaccine initiative.”