One Million Jamaicans to be Vaccinated by the End of November
Prime Minister Andrew Holness has declared that the Government is redoubling its vaccination efforts and has set a target to significantly increase vaccinations by November, aiming to reach one million Jamaicans by the end of that month.Speaking on Thursday (October 7, 2021), during a tour of Vaccination Blitz sites in North Central Clarendon, Prime Minister Holness said the Government will collaborate with various sectors to meet the target.“We have decided to redouble our efforts with another campaign to ensure that we reach one million vaccinated Jamaicans by the end of November. This is not impossible nor a very difficult task, it just requires greater focus. Right throughout the country, we will be pulling together our partners, including the unions and the churches to help us reach this target,” said Prime Minister Holness.The new target comes as the Government moves to ensure all vaccines are utilized before their date of expiration. He noted that the disposal of expired vaccines in the past is regrettable and called on all Jamaicans to reflect on their role in the vaccination programme.“The vaccines were given with a short time to expiration, and therefore with our best efforts, we probably still would have had a certain percentage that we would have had to destroy, and I was not satisfied that we had to destroy 60,000 vaccines. I am not here casting blame, but I am saying that all persons should look into themselves, including those who didn’t take the vaccines, and see that Jamaica’s reputation internationally and our ability to come out of the pandemic quickly would also be impacted,” said Prime Minister Holness.In the meantime, Prime Minister Holness noted that the Government is reaching a critical point where it must take action as the current measures cannot continue in place forever.He noted that new policy approaches will be outlined soon.