Guild backs UWI vaccine ultimatum

University of the West Indies Guild President Danielle Mullings has come out in support of the decision taken by the Mona campus to bar accommodation on halls of residence to students who are not vaccinated against COVID-19.

The directive issued on August 27 outlined that students who do not receive at least one dose of the vaccine by September must pack their bags and go.

The deadline for students to get at least one jab is September 3.

Students who are hesitant will not be allowed to continue to reside at the institution. However, the memo stated that the Office of Students Services & Development (OSSD) would attempt to assist students in identifying alternative accommodations off-campus.

The UWI has become the most major institution to impose a vaccine mandate – terminology Registrar Donovan Stanberry has rejected but which effectively bars dormitory access. Stanberry has labelled the offer of living quarters as a “privilege”, not a right.

The university’s decision has found favour with the guild, which represents student interests.

“The position of the guild is that we are in support of this requirement, especially given that it will also apply to staff … They have stated that they are encouraging all the staff on hall to [be vaccinated]. Those who may be hesitant or those who decline to will be routed elsewhere on campus,” Mullings told The Gleaner on Saturday.

Vaccine hesitancy in Jamaica appears on the retreat amid an unprecedented spike in coronavirus infections spiralling beyond 66,000 cases and causing more than 1,500 deaths.

As at Saturday, 512,327 doses of COVID-19 vaccines were administered in Jamaica. More than 143,000 people have been fully vaccinated.

An outbreak at the university earlier this year has given momentum to the vaccination edict.

“Overall, a lot of what is driving this decision is the Irvine Hall incident that would have happened this year, where we would have about seven blocks in quarantine. That was a pretty scary incident because it could have gone way worse than it did,” the guild president said.

“We had to put out a lot of money in terms of getting food for students for their comfort while seven blocks were on quarantine, which was a lot one time,” Mullings added.

Mullings revealed that more than 100 students were quarantined after a confirmed case of COVID-19.

The position taken by the campus is likely to spark discussion on the efficacy of vaccine mandates locally, sparking debate about their constitutionality. The Jamaica Constabulary Force and Jamaica Defence Force have snubbed new applicants or offered differentiated access to training opportunities or assignments on the basis of compliance.

The introduction of vaccine passes has emerged as a global concern, triggering angry and sometimes violent demonstrations in European cities.

On April 13, the World Health Organization in a COVID-19 policy brief outlined that vaccine mandates may pose ethical concerns for policymakers.

“While interfering with individual liberty does not in itself make a policy intervention unjustified, such policies raise a number of ethical considerations and concerns and should be justified by advancing another valuable social goal,” the brief stated.

Recently, Prime Minister Andrew Holness also shot down the suggestion that the Government would be introducing a public vaccine mandate, but he has hinted at a two-tier system of engagement of public-school teachers that may influence remuneration and depend on COVID-19 negative test results for re-entry into the classroom.

Mullings disclosed that anecdotally, the vast majority of students are in favour of the university’s decision, especially with the recent confirmation that the highly contagious Delta variant has been detected in at least half of Jamaica’s 14 parishes.

Earlier in August, Chief Medical Officer Dr Jacquiline Bisasor-McKenzie revealed that younger persons are increasingly contracting the disease because of higher rates of exposure, making them more vulnerable to severe illness and hospitalisation.

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