Use Caymanas Park as vaccination hub – SVREL
Published:Sunday | April 25, 2021 | 12:32 AMRobert Bailey - Sunday Gleaner Writer
In an effort to boost the vaccination uptake among its stakeholders, Solomon Sharpe, chairman of Supreme Ventures Racing and Entertainment Limited (SVREL), said he has made representation to the Government for the Caymanas Park facility to be used as a vaccination site.
Sharpe told The Sunday Gleaner that the horse racing facility, which is located in Gregory Park, St Catherine, would be the perfect hub to set up a vaccination centre, given the large amount of space available.
“We have sent a message to the Government to tell them that we will make Caymanas Park available as a site. We think it is an excellent location because we have a lot of space and a lot of open covered space, and we have a lot of bathrooms,” said Sharpe.
“We just don’t believe in the community at Caymanas Park, we believe in the wider community, and based on the different sites that I have seen set up around the country, I think Caymanas Park will make a perfect site and it will definitely make it a lot more convenient for the horsemen to be sensitised with the process of being vaccinated,” Sharpe said. “Without a doubt, that is what we will be pushing for and we will encourage them (jockeys, etc) to get vaccinated. I have been vaccinated through a government programme because it is something that I believe in.
“(People) would come there with their families because it is within walking distance of a lot of the communities, and so nobody would be packed up in public transport or anything like that, and it is a nice open facility. It will be perfect for everyone based on what I have seen from the other sites,” Sharpe added.
MAKING JAMAICA SAFE
“I think the quicker we do this, then it is the quicker we can make Jamaica safe from this deadly virus. This is something that I have personally done and so I would recommend not just the grooms, trainers and the jockeys, but all of Jamaica to get vaccinated,” he said.
President of the Grooms Association of Jamaica, Fabian Whyte, described the effort as a good move by SVREL, and said he will be encouraging his grooms and their families to take the vaccine once it becomes available to them.
“This will be good for us and I will be supporting it more than one hundred per cent,” said Whyte. “I have taken the vaccine and so nobody can tell me anything about this vaccine because I know it is good. This will be a good thing for the racing industry so that we can open up back fully and have a lot of people coming to racing.
“I personally will go around to the stables and lobby my grooms and let them know that I have taken the vaccine and I am okay, and so they should take it too because it only can be good for all of us down here,” he said.