IT was nothing short of a fiasco on day one of the rollout for walk-in for Covid-19 vaccines across Trinidad and Tobago on Wednesday.
There was mass disorganisation and confusion as thousands clamoured for vaccines. It showed a serious lack of foresight and proper planning by the minister of health and the ministry he leads.
The chaos during a State of Emergency where the ministry and Government are trying to control the spread of Covid-19, may have created a super-spreader situation during a public vaccination process.
Thousands of people, some social distancing without masks, some not social distancing, traffic jams, long lines and elderly citizens waiting since early morning in the hot sun. These were the scenes that greeted the nation in 36 sites across the country.
It was obvious that no proper planning, crowd control and simple common sense were implemented in the rollout of these vaccines.
This nightmarish scene was alarming as our country was already in curfew to curb gatherings. Not to mention the high death and infection rates seen since May.
Why can’t we have proper planning and common sense in devising an efficient vaccine appointment system instead of ineptitude and foolishness.
Several CARICOM states, the United States and other countries have already distributed vaccines in an orderly manner without mass chaos. We don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Just take guidance from other countries around the world that have vaccinated millions of their citizens by using drive-thru sites and proper crowd control.
Come on Mr Minister, put aside your arrogance and take the guidance and recommendations from other countries and even make use of our local expertise as people lives are at stake. We need better from you and the Government now, to save the lives and livelihoods of our citizens.
Already the US and many other countries are offering people incentives to get vaccinated and have vaccinated millions of their citizens.
The US is one of the countries producing and distributing Covid-19 vaccines more than most other countries anywhere in the world at the moment. It has rolled out mass vaccination without what we saw on Wednesday and in a shorter space of time.
This is why it’s so important for us to devise proper rollout of the vaccines so that we can get back to some semblance of normalcy.
Attention must be paid to the economy, businesses and the job losses that we have experienced during this pandemic and set a course to recovery.
We cannot survive much longer without proper procedures and plans in place to get to the desired herd immunity and find a balance to restart the economy.
We call on the Government to use the expertise and resources that are available from other countries, our local medical personnel, private sector and the Opposition to do what is required to save our citizens lives, our livelihood and our businesses.
Let the private sector, the business community and the Opposition help where they can to encourage sustainability of livelihoods and lives as well as help plan a proper rollout system that doesn’t cause a super- spreader fiasco as seen by the walk-in vaccination process on Wednesday.
Restoration of the economy requires all parties working together to chart a course to recovery.
Neil Gosine is an insurance executive, the North East Regional Coordinator of the United National Congress and a former chairman of NP. The comments and opinions expressed by him in this column are not necessary those of AZPNews.com, a division of Complete Image Limited.
Charting a Course for Recovery after Vaccine Fiasco
IT was nothing short of a fiasco on day one of the rollout for walk-in for Covid-19 vaccines across Trinidad and Tobago on Wednesday.
There was mass disorganisation and confusion as thousands clamoured for vaccines. It showed a serious lack of foresight and proper planning by the minister of health and the ministry he leads.
The chaos during a State of Emergency where the ministry and Government are trying to control the spread of Covid-19, may have created a super-spreader situation during a public vaccination process.
Thousands of people, some social distancing without masks, some not social distancing, traffic jams, long lines and elderly citizens waiting since early morning in the hot sun. These were the scenes that greeted the nation in 36 sites across the country.
It was obvious that no proper planning, crowd control and simple common sense were implemented in the rollout of these vaccines.
This nightmarish scene was alarming as our country was already in curfew to curb gatherings. Not to mention the high death and infection rates seen since May.
Why can’t we have proper planning and common sense in devising an efficient vaccine appointment system instead of ineptitude and foolishness.
Several CARICOM states, the United States and other countries have already distributed vaccines in an orderly manner without mass chaos. We don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Just take guidance from other countries around the world that have vaccinated millions of their citizens by using drive-thru sites and proper crowd control.
Come on Mr Minister, put aside your arrogance and take the guidance and recommendations from other countries and even make use of our local expertise as people lives are at stake. We need better from you and the Government now, to save the lives and livelihoods of our citizens.
Already the US and many other countries are offering people incentives to get vaccinated and have vaccinated millions of their citizens.
The US is one of the countries producing and distributing Covid-19 vaccines more than most other countries anywhere in the world at the moment. It has rolled out mass vaccination without what we saw on Wednesday and in a shorter space of time.
This is why it’s so important for us to devise proper rollout of the vaccines so that we can get back to some semblance of normalcy.
Attention must be paid to the economy, businesses and the job losses that we have experienced during this pandemic and set a course to recovery.
We cannot survive much longer without proper procedures and plans in place to get to the desired herd immunity and find a balance to restart the economy.
We call on the Government to use the expertise and resources that are available from other countries, our local medical personnel, private sector and the Opposition to do what is required to save our citizens lives, our livelihood and our businesses.
Let the private sector, the business community and the Opposition help where they can to encourage sustainability of livelihoods and lives as well as help plan a proper rollout system that doesn’t cause a super- spreader fiasco as seen by the walk-in vaccination process on Wednesday.
Restoration of the economy requires all parties working together to chart a course to recovery.
Neil Gosine is an insurance executive, the North East Regional Coordinator of the United National Congress and a former chairman of NP. The comments and opinions expressed by him in this column are not necessary those of AZPNews.com, a division of Complete Image Limited.