Prime Minister Andrew Holness says unvaccinated Jamaicans may soon have to foot the actual bill for their choice as he provides more insight into the government’s move towards what he’s describing as a ‘Vaccine Option’.
He’s following up on his prior announcement that a Vaccine Option will be coming once the country has reached 50 per cent coverage of the population.
Speaking in South East St. Mary, Mr. Holness warned the unvaccinated the government will inevitably transfer the cost of failing to take the vaccine.
Wayne Walker tells us more.
The prime minister gave a bit more detail as to what his vaccine option will look like.
He’s says those who fail take the vaccine may have to foot the bill to prove they do not have the virus.
He’s says currently the burden of low vaccine take up is borne by the state and those already fully vaccinated.
This burden he believes has to be shifted.
The prime minister says he’s very much aware that any policy from the state will be challenged in court.
But, he says the legislation when it comes will be inline with Jamaica’s charter of rights and will stand up to scrutiny.
Another measure that might be coming may be pairing government grants with vaccination.
The government just announced 4 billion dollars worth of grants to assist the most vulnerable as part of its supplementary estimates.
It was noted by many that these grants were not tied with vaccine requirements.
Mr. Holness argues that the government is hesitant to deprive persons of the basic necessities but this might be unavoidable in the long run.
