Mobile army key to winning COVID war – Williams
Published:Monday | August 23, 2021 | 12:09 AMRuddy Mathison/Gleaner Writer
The success of Jamaica’s campaign to immunise tens of thousands of students could rest on the mobilisation of an army of vaccination teams into rural districts and inner-city communities.
That is the assessment of Education Minister Fayval Williams, who cited distance and transportation hurdles as factors that might sap optimism to get the jab.
A four-day blitz targeting children aged 12-18 has seen robust turnouts at schools and other sites across the country, but Williams has her eye on the clock and calendar, with face-to-face classes set to resume in October.
“So it’s not just parents and children coming to the health centres and high schools, it’s the mobile van going out into the communities and remaining there for a day or two,” Williams said.
The minister also raised the issue of the cost of commuting from rural communities to vaccination sites in the era of the pandemic.
“Most of these communities are far away from public transportation, and to get to the vaccination centres, it cost a lot, so it forces people to choose what they are going to spend their money on,” she added.
There was an overwhelming response to the vaccination blitz at the Portmore HEART Academy on Sunday as scores of parents turned up with students for their COVID-19 shot.
Samantha Brown, a front-line worker, and her son, Samir Taylor, both received their first doses on Sunday.
Brown said she was initially hesitant about getting vaccinated because of a flood of misinformation but changed her mind after doing her own research.
“I have a lot a friends who had COVID, and as a front-line worker out there every day in the field, I know that it is extremely important to protect myself and others,” she said.