Without definitively saying if mandatory vaccination will be featured in the government’s legislative agenda in the coming days, Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony has made it clear that the regime will do whatever it takes to prevent citizens from dying of COVID-19.
Asked if the government has any plans to make vaccination compulsory, he replied, “we are looking at what is evolving from an epidemiological point of view, and we would take all the necessary steps to ensure that people are protected.”
Minister Anthony went on to say that vaccination remains the only alternative for countries to exit the pandemic. He noted that even with the dominant Delta variant wreaking havoc in more than 60 countries, vaccinated persons have had a better chance of escaping unscathed.
Indeed, since the outbreak in Wuhan, China in 2019, the World has witnessed the evolution of the virus, making it more infectious. The Delta variant has caused more hospitalization and deaths since it emerged months ago.
Again, without saying definitively if the government will make vaccination obligatory, Dr. Anthony said that many jurisdictions have made inoculation mandatory because vaccines help to keep citizens safe and alleviate the burden placed on health systems.
“In the United States, as of the 26th July, California has now mandated that all state employees must take the vaccine and they’ve been given a particular date by when they should do so. Immediately after that was done, you had New York stating the same thing, and on the same day, the French government passed legislation pertaining to mandatory vaccination. So, more and more countries are going in this direction because they recognize that unless the population is fully vaccinated, you are going to have challenges with people getting sick and people dying, and in many instances, overwhelm the health system,” he said.
Meanwhile, in Guyana, some private sector entities have mandated that employees can either get vaccinated or take regular COVID-19 tests at their own expense to ensure the safety of other employees and patrons. Despite vaccination not being mandatory, Dr. Anthony said that it is only logical that businesses would want to ensure a safe working environment while reiterating his call for all citizens to take the jab.
