Amid the blowback the Ministry of Health and Wellness has received from anti-vaxxers with an agenda to thwart the Government’s national vaccination programme, Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton is condemning the verbal abuse being meted out to health care workers.

Making his 2021-2022 Sectoral Debate presentation in the House of Representatives on Wednesday (April 21), the minister said the “anti-vax movement is alive and active”, and has made it their duty to relay variations of attacks and threats to those employed in public health.

“With each day we do experience in public health, whether through cyberspace or otherwise, acts of verbal attacks, even threats in some cases, because of the work that the Government and the public health team, with the support of all of us here in this Parliament, are doing to overcome this COVID-19 threat,” Tufton said.

The minister further sought to validate his claims by noting that he, like others within the health ministry, has received hate mail.

“I personally have received hate mail and many others have. The issue around persons who have died having taken the AstraZeneca vaccine and the links between the vaccine and death have featured prominently with a certain degree of venom by those who are looking for a reason to promote the anti-vaccine movement,” said Tufton.

In light of this, the minister has called on the persons engaging in these activities to desist and on well-thinking Jamaicans to condemn these efforts and support those of the country’s public health team.

The minister’s condemnation came just hours after reports surfaced that the public health nurse who administered veteran broadcaster Michael Sharpe’s COVID-19 jab had begun receiving death threats as a result of rumours the vaccine played a role in his death.