Come November 19 2021, all frontline workers in St Vincent and the Grenadines should have already taken an available Covid-19 vaccine as required under the Public Health Amendment Act 2021.
According to Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves, those who refuse to take the jab will have no choice but to leave their job once there is no exemption.
Gonsalves has been pleading with public servants for months to take the jab as the island battles rising COVID -19 cases and deaths.
At the time of this publication, there were (1774) active cases and 63 deaths recorded on the Eastern Caribbean island.
The frontline workers who are expected to be fully vaccinated include:
- All health care workers.
- Police officers.
- Prison and customs officers.
- Teachers.
- Permanent Secretaries.
- All heads of departments and Chief Technical officers.
There have been several protests in St Vincent over vaccine mandates, including one on August 5, which left Prime Minister Gonsalves with a head wound, from which he has recovered.
St Vincent and the Grenadines Teachers Union boss Oswald Robinson in a message to teachers on Tuesday, October 25, described COVID-19 and the vaccine mandate as a “Staged Crisis” and urged the educators to stand their ground.
In the general service, PM Gonsalves said workers would take PCR tests every two weeks.
