THERE has a been a lot of accusations from the Minister of Health that the Opposition especially the Leader of the Oposition is attempting to derail Trinidad and Tobago’s Covid-19 vaccination programme. And then there is the blame game that has been occurring for the past six years.
We all want to see the vaccination programme succeed as we are all in this pandemic which seems to be desperate at the moment with all the deaths and cases rising daily.
The headlines in the newspapers can only talk about Death Despair as T&T records 162 fatalities in the 19 days of May 2021.
T&T experienced its deadliest day due to Covid-19 with 23 deaths reported on the 18th day of May. Every day we are bombarded with the harrowing figures which seem to outdo the previous day’s with continuous warning of hospitals being overwhelmed.
We have never faced such a menace as we do now from Covid-19. The reality is that people are dying and many are fighting just to feed their families. Of course we are all routing for the Government to come together with the Opposition and to get control of this pandemic as we are all facing it on a daily basis.
Now more than ever we need the Government and the Minister of Health to stop taking pot shots at the Opposition and vice versa. We must all come together and try our best to unite to fight this horrific virus and admit we do not have all the answers. The Opposition was the first to bring the Covid-19 issue to Parliament and was bashed in both Houses many times. A terrible miscalculation by the Government. This is a matter of record and we know both sides are on the same page regarding the vaccination of the population.
That’s why members of Parliament from both sides of the bench, came out publicly to show they have taken the vaccine and have encouraged citizens to do the same.
It’s just that they can’t be criticised for asking for proper efficacy in vaccines being acquired and there must be a sufficient supply of the vaccines.
It must be acquired in a transparent manner where if questions are asked about the safety of the Sinopharm vaccine, for example, the Government should not chastise the people that is asking the questions, but have experts answer the questions in a scientifically backed response with statistical data.
The plan should not be to put the country in more debt for future generations at the risk of the health of our nation.
The Government and especially the Minister of Health must expect these inquiries where the safety and the lives our citizens are at stake. They seem to fight anyone, attacking a person claiming that they are being difficult and unpatriotic for even asking questions.
In my humble opinion, it is important that the Government face these questions head on and recognise that the Opposition has a job to play here to ensure the efficacy and safety of the vaccination process and that the citizens also get value from the public purse.
They should have pursued vaccines earlier as the rest of the CARICOM countries did, even though our PM is the head of CARICOM and has responsibilities to that post, his first focus must be the lives of his people, his country.
With that being said, now is not the time to cry over lost opportunities, we need to unite to combat this pandemic as everyone needs to stop playing politricks.
Vaccination should be the main goal to ensure our survival. The longer we wait for vaccines, the likelihood is that more people will die and this is a price too high to pay for our nation.
No more blame games!
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.
Government/Opposition Must Unite to Fight Pandemic
THERE has a been a lot of accusations from the Minister of Health that the Opposition especially the Leader of the Oposition is attempting to derail Trinidad and Tobago’s Covid-19 vaccination programme. And then there is the blame game that has been occurring for the past six years.
We all want to see the vaccination programme succeed as we are all in this pandemic which seems to be desperate at the moment with all the deaths and cases rising daily.
The headlines in the newspapers can only talk about Death Despair as T&T records 162 fatalities in the 19 days of May 2021.
T&T experienced its deadliest day due to Covid-19 with 23 deaths reported on the 18th day of May. Every day we are bombarded with the harrowing figures which seem to outdo the previous day’s with continuous warning of hospitals being overwhelmed.
We have never faced such a menace as we do now from Covid-19. The reality is that people are dying and many are fighting just to feed their families. Of course we are all routing for the Government to come together with the Opposition and to get control of this pandemic as we are all facing it on a daily basis.
Now more than ever we need the Government and the Minister of Health to stop taking pot shots at the Opposition and vice versa. We must all come together and try our best to unite to fight this horrific virus and admit we do not have all the answers. The Opposition was the first to bring the Covid-19 issue to Parliament and was bashed in both Houses many times. A terrible miscalculation by the Government. This is a matter of record and we know both sides are on the same page regarding the vaccination of the population.
That’s why members of Parliament from both sides of the bench, came out publicly to show they have taken the vaccine and have encouraged citizens to do the same.
It’s just that they can’t be criticised for asking for proper efficacy in vaccines being acquired and there must be a sufficient supply of the vaccines.
It must be acquired in a transparent manner where if questions are asked about the safety of the Sinopharm vaccine, for example, the Government should not chastise the people that is asking the questions, but have experts answer the questions in a scientifically backed response with statistical data.
The plan should not be to put the country in more debt for future generations at the risk of the health of our nation.
The Government and especially the Minister of Health must expect these inquiries where the safety and the lives our citizens are at stake. They seem to fight anyone, attacking a person claiming that they are being difficult and unpatriotic for even asking questions.
In my humble opinion, it is important that the Government face these questions head on and recognise that the Opposition has a job to play here to ensure the efficacy and safety of the vaccination process and that the citizens also get value from the public purse.
They should have pursued vaccines earlier as the rest of the CARICOM countries did, even though our PM is the head of CARICOM and has responsibilities to that post, his first focus must be the lives of his people, his country.
With that being said, now is not the time to cry over lost opportunities, we need to unite to combat this pandemic as everyone needs to stop playing politricks.
Vaccination should be the main goal to ensure our survival. The longer we wait for vaccines, the likelihood is that more people will die and this is a price too high to pay for our nation.
No more blame games!
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.