Amid limited vaccine access and a vaccination implementation programme that appears to have gone awry, Opposition Leader Mark Golding is bemoaning what he says has been a ‘poorly handled’ vaccination programme.

According to Golding, who was addressing the business community at the Bellefield Great House in St James last Friday (June 18), the Government of Jamaica has been late in getting vaccines and despite beginning its vaccination implementation programme in March 2021, there remains no real programme in place to get people vaccinated.

He said: “The vaccination programme in the country is being very poorly handled in my opinion.

“We are one of the least-vaccinated countries in the English-speaking Caribbean region right now, and that does not go well for the recovery of the economy because, at the end of the day, we need to keep ahead of the curve in terms of vaccination so that people can feel that they are coming into a place which has this thing under control.”

He noted that the Government has negligently placed all its vaccine eggs into one basket, which has resulted in Jamaica’s low vaccination rates when compared to its Caribbean counterparts.

He stated: “The Government is very late to react to the need to secure vaccines… . They were putting all their eggs in one basket, which is COVAX (a source) which is well known to be insufficient (if we are) to achieve herd immunity in any reasonable time frame.”

To make matters worse, Golding argued that the Government has put “no real programme to persuade people to get vaccinated (in place) and (as a result)… there is a lot of vaccine hesitancy, reluctance, fear, misunderstanding, and so on,” among the vulnerable population.

Given this, Golding said there is a need for the implementation of a proper public relations programme that can assist in debunking some of the social media hype and misinformation.

On the matter of vaccinations the opposition leader stated he had received both doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine and is encouraging the public to get vaccinated once the opportunity presents itself.

“Hundreds of millions of people around the world are vaccinated, and the incidence of side effects or worse, fatality, is very, very minimal. There are many things that each of us does every day which are much more risky than getting vaccinated,” stated Golding.

He added, “I had my second jab and I am still standing. So I encourage anybody to do it, especially those who are up in age and may have other co-morbidities.”