Jimmy Prince, the health minister, and Camilo Gonsalves, the finance minister on Tuesday said, a memo purportedly stating health care workers should take Covid boosters every 5 months is not mandated by the government.
A memo obtained by St Vincent Times on Sunday stated that health care workers are required to take a booster shot every five months to remain employed.
Addressing the matter on Tuesday also, Minister of Finance Camilo Gonsalves stated the following.
“There appears to have been a mistranslation from the cabinet when they were discussing the easing of restrictions in relation to teachers and civil servants”.
“At that time, we also decided to strongly encourage booster shots for all citizens, but particularly for front-line workers and health workers”.
According to Gonsalves, there appeared to be a mistranslation of that decision that was sent to the permanent secretary, who diligently relayed the erroneous cabinet minutes to the health care workers.
Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves announced at the launch of VEEP on July 5 that vaccination and booster shots remain requirements for both existing and new healthcare workers.
However, Gonsalves did not specify how often booster shots would be administered.
