Following the lead of a number of private sector companies that have taken the charge to aid the Ministry of Health and Wellness in vaccinating Jamaicans against the coronavirus, the British Caribbean Insurance Company (BCIC), has teamed up with the Transport Operators Sustainable Services (TODSS) to host a vaccination drive for public transport sector personnel.

In keeping with the Government’s goal to vaccinate 65 per cent of the island’s population by March 2022, BCIC in collaboration with TODSS has embarked on a mission to innoculate 65 per cent of taxi operators by January 2022.

In the first of its vaccination drives, the organisations will commence inoculations on Wednesday (October 6), from 9 am – 4 pm, at the Half-Way Tree Transport Centre, giving priority during the first half of the day to drivers and their families from 9 am – 2 pm. Members of the general public will then be able to come on in to receive the jab from 2 pm – 4 pm.

The organisations, through their vaccination drive, are targeting, in the first instance, public passenger vehicle (PPV) licence holders, who account for some 35,000 persons of those employed in the public transportation sector.

One of the most at-risk groups for COVID-19 transmission, due to their high level of interaction with members of the public on a day-to-day basis, PPV licence holders are being asked to come out and receive their coronavirus vaccination to protect themselves and others from severe outcomes of the deadly virus.

To date, Jamaica has inoculated, with at least a first dose, some 788,984 persons, while the virus has claimed the lives of 1,936 individuals in the country.