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Jamaica’s government is pressing local councils, opposition parliamentarians and even the Girl Guides into its vaccination blitz, aiming to jab 65 per cent of the Caribbean country’s population by March 2022.
Only about 140,000 of Jamaica’s 3m people are fully vaccinated. Fewer than 400,000 have received even a first dose. The government aims to administer about 700,000 doses by the end of September in pursuit of its target.
“It’s an ambitious target, it’s not a target that will fail on account of a lack of vaccines,” said Chris Tufton, health minister. “If it fails, it would be on account of the low take-up of vaccines, which is why the approach around community-based intervention is important,” he said.
The Ministry of Health and Wellness this week will set up more mobile vaccination sites in a bid to significantly increase the number of Jamaicans inoculated.
Tufton said that the intervention forms part of efforts to deal with the third wave of the virus and mobilise as best as possible those people who otherwise would have to travel far distances to receive the vaccine.
“It will make it a lot easier to access the vaccines [and] very importantly it is also to engage the community-based approach to supporting a comfort level for persons who may have issues with the vaccine.”
Tufton said the government was engaging with “multiple stakeholders” — members of parliament, councillors, community health aides, health promotion and education officers, community leaders, private partners and church leaders — to boost the jab uptake rate.
He said he would meet Morais Guy, the opposition health spokesman, to discuss levels of collaboration and coordination.
The Girl Guides headquarters in Kingston, the capital, would be converted into a mass vaccination site able to jab 6,000 people a week.
“Additionally, two mobile sites are being put in place and the intention is to use these mobile sites to visit companies,” Tufton said, noting that more than 350 private-sector employees have signalled their intention so far to be vaccinated.