KINGSTON, Jamaica — Prime Minister Andrew Holness says although the supply of COVID-19 vaccines is “uncertain”, it is expected that the current vaccination programme will continue without disruption.

“The supply of vaccines right now is slow, and I would use the term uncertain, but we are getting flows, so we will have vaccines available. We have started the programme and we expect to be able to continue the programme right through without any breaks,” Holness said at a vaccine virtual town hall a short while ago.

“What it means is that the supply of the vaccines in the first few months of the programme will be far less than the demand for the vaccines,” he added.

Jamaica has so far received two shipments of AstraZeneca vaccine, totalling 64,400 doses.

Holness stressed the importance of herd immunity as he implored Jamaicans to think about the public good in taking the vaccine.

“The fear that some would have in our society, the hesitance and the reluctance, while it is your right to be skeptical on anything, but you also should bear that right and balance it against the public good that you do in taking the vaccine,” he declared.

“It is very important that a large percentage of the population [gets vaccinated]. We would want everyone to take the vaccine, barring those who have any special circumstances that could create complications,” he added.

He reiterated that the recovery of the country is dependent on vaccination.

“…. Parties can go on if you take the vaccine. From a public good perspective, the recovering of the country is dependent upon the take-up of the vaccine,” he said.

In the meantime, there is concern of a rush for vaccination by “high-income” earners.

“The people who are clamouring to take the vaccine and who are turning up in large numbers are usually those from a higher income category,” said Holness.

“Persons who live in inner-city areas or in rural areas do not always have the information and don’t always have firsthand access to their doctors and practitioners to give them the advice. Now that could be a danger for us, and of course they would get access to perverse information,” he added.

He also pointed to perverse information being circulated widely by influential people.

“People who are opinion leaders, people who are influential in various areas, church or music or entertainment, they are sometimes messengers of perverse information,” said Holness.

Kasey Williams