Dear Editor,
I am quite disturbed and worried that there are some Guyanese writing to say that refusing to vaccinate against COVID is a human right. Is that really a “human right” or a “human wrong?” More disturbing and disappointing is that Minister Manickchand disclosed on Globespan that only 23 per cent of our teachers were vaccinated! So, I ask, how is it that the supposedly smartest, more educated people among us – the teachers – have such a low rate of vaccination? What is the Guyana Teachers’ Union doing about this? How do we explain this? Should it not be the teachers who are the ones to spread the word and be advocates for vaccination, especially if we want to open school in September? What went wrong? Why isn’t GTU mobilising members to get vaccinated?
With all the devastation that the COVID virus has inflicted on the whole world, can you believe we have such people? The virus has affected everything – the production and supply chain, employment, the education process, travel, recreation, millions of loved ones have died including over 500 Guyanese, and some people have learned nothing from all of this! The Government has done its job finding vaccines when there is a limited supply.
If they did not do that, people would have criticised the Government for not doing its job. Now we have stockpiles of vaccines that run the risk of spoiling and our poor country would lose millions of dollars if people don’t step up to be vaccinated. On top of that, the unvaccinated pose a risk to the health and safety of the rest of us, with the emergence of new variants of the virus.
Someone said, “Man, all these highly educated doctors, scientists, epidemiologists, immunologists, microbiologists, anatomists, and researchers worldwide have worked hard and advised that COVID is dangerous, but all these people who barely passed science in high school keep saying it’s not.” We have to be immunised against COVID the same way we are immunised after birth with the MMR vaccines (measles, mumps, and rubella), the flu vaccine, hepatitis, tetanus, whooping cough, polio, etc. Why are some people listening to wackos and school and college dropouts pretending to have superior knowledge than the educated experts? You would have no human rights when you are dead!
We are in an expensive fight to save our lives and our economies. Now is not the time to listen to vaccine myths, rumours, and simply silly things people say about the vaccine. We cannot open up the economy and return to normal unless everyone plays their role in this worldwide emergency.
This week in the USA, Stephen Harmon, a member of the popular Hillsong megachurch in California, died after a month-long battle with the virus. In his last tweet, he said, “Don’t know when I’ll wake up, please pray.” He had been a vocal opponent who mocked the COVID vaccines, making a series of jokes about not having the vaccine. I fear there might be a special hell for those preachers in Guyana who discourage members from getting the vaccine. This is wicked and obstructionist. Is the Assembly of God, Full Gospel Fellowship and others encouraging vaccination?
People who opposed and politicised vaccines now realise the folly of their ways. “These shots need to get in everybody’s arms as rapidly as possible,” US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said. A number of Republican Governors implored their citizens to get vaccinated — including some who have been vocal in denouncing strict COVID mitigation strategies, such as mask mandates and business closures. “I believe in the science of vaccination,” Fox News commentator Sean Hannity said during his primetime show while imploring his viewers to “take COVID seriously.”
These desperate times call for desperate measures. I applaud the business community for saying employees should be vaccinated if they want to keep their jobs. I support Giftland Mall requiring staff to be vaccinated or to get tested weekly, at their own expense, as a job requirement.
Employers have “human rights” too. Right? This week, the US Justice Department lawyers determined that federal law doesn’t prohibit public agencies and private businesses from requiring COVID vaccines — even if the vaccines have only emergency use authorisation.
Some public and private colleges are requiring their students to get vaccinated before returning to classes. City and local governments are requiring vaccines too. Most teachers are vaccinated. President Biden announced on Thursday that all federal employees and contractors be vaccinated against COVID or be required to submit to regular testing and mitigation requirements. I welcome and support Minister Anthony announcing similar measures.
So, in Guyana, the Government and key sectors of the economy need to do what they need to do, and who vex, vex. It’s the road we must take, because “a hole in the boat, is a hole in the whole Guyana boat.” We prefer you to live so you may enjoy more “human rights.” Don’t hesitate, go vaccinate!
Sincerely,
Dr Jerry Jailall
