The newly announced COVID-19 measure requiring unvaccinated persons to make an appointment before visiting a ministry or government agency has been met with mixed reactions, with some welcoming the decision while others have described it as unfair.
Several persons said that the measure is necessary and applauded the government for “finally” taking some action to stabilise the death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic.
A businessman, Kirk Collette, said that it is unfortunate that persons are refusing to get vaccinated because of baseless conspiracy theories and misinformation about the vaccines on social media despite there being many credible platforms where persons can go to access information on the vaccine.
He pointed out that the death toll has risen significantly within the last few months and according to Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony, no one who has been fully vaccinated has died. Collette, who has been vaccinated, said he supports the decision by the government.
“I think it’s important for the government to take the necessary action to prevent the death toll from rising and stop the continuous spread of the virus,” he said.
Randy, a government employee, said that he will feel safer as his job sees him dealing with a lot of persons during the day. Randy believes that the measure will ensure that people, especially those who have not been vaccinated, comply with mask wearing and social distancing measures now that they have to go through a much stricter process to gain services.
“Sometimes you don’t know which of the persons who you are assisting is infected and some of them do not want to wear masks or social distance and we will still have to deal with them but now with this in place, hopefully they will see that this is not all about them and their rights. We have rights, too. It will be a much difficult process for them but for people like us who got vaccinated and want to stay safe, this is a process we can trust,” he said.
He went on to say that while he is aware that vaccinated persons can still catch the virus and transmit it, getting vaccinated against the virus shows that they care about their health and others as well. He added that he recognises that everyone has the right to make their own decisions and should do so but they also have to be prepared to accept the consequences of their actions.
“I am not saying this is a consequence for unvaccinated people. We will still be providing them with the necessary services, it’s just that they will have to call ahead before they come. That’s how I understand it, and it is not a punishment and I don’t think this particular measure is forcing people to get vaccinated. Just a different process. A process that works for vaccinated and unvaccinated because they are not being denied service,” he posited.
However, not everyone is in favour of the new measure and some have argued that being vaccinated does not prevent someone from getting infected.
Dwright Ward told Sunday Stabroek that he doesn’t think the measures are necessary and described it as unfair, saying that he believes that ultimately, persons will be denied access to government services simply because they are not vaccinated.
He added that not every unvaccinated person listens to conspiracy theories but instead are still doing their own research on the vaccines so that they can decide whether or not they should take it. “If you are trying to force some to take it when they are not ready, I don’t think that is right because people should be allowed to make their own decisions,” he said.
Ward believes that the measure was imposed without any consideration for why persons are still hesitant to get vaccinated and he pointed out that being vaccinated does not stop a person from transmitting or contracting the virus.
Another persons who disagreed with the measure, Latoya, said that most of the ministries and agencies, if not all, have sanitising methods and equipment to test temperatures in addition to mandatory mask wearing.
She said that being vaccinated does not stop a persons from spreading the virus, whil adding that even though the government is saying that COVID-19 vaccination is not mandatory, the measures that they have put in place suggest otherwise. “They are putting certain requirements in place to leave people without an options and that is very unfair,” she said.
Further, she pointed out that many people have been waiting for their second dose of a vaccine for months yet they are putting such measures in place.
Attempts to contact Anthony about the new measures in place were unsuccessful.
According to the updated measures, which were gazetted on Thursday and cover the month of August, persons who wish to enter a ministry or government agency to access a service will have to be vaccinated. However, while they would be permitted to access in-person services, unvaccinated persons will have to call and schedule a meeting before they can visit a government agency.
In order to be considered vaccinated, a person would have to have received at least one dose of either the AstraZeneca, Sputnik V, Sinopharm, Sincovac, Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines.
