THE unimaginable has happened in Jamaica. The country dumped thousands of AstraZeneca vaccine phials because they expired last Thursday at midnight. They remained unused because people simply refuse to be vaccinated. And this in a country in which over 94 per cent of the people are unvaccinated and in the midst of a raging tempest of a respiratory pandemic that has killed over 1,800 Jamaicans in under two years and, perhaps, compromised the long-term health of thousands more.

One of the saddest things about this episode is that the vaccines were part of a batch gifted by the British Government. How do we explain to our benefactors the dumping of thousands of phials of this precious commodity when they could have been given to other countries that desperately need them? Are we not giving credence to the British High Commission’s caution regarding our vaccination programme and the quarantining of even fully vaccinated people coming from Jamaica to that country?

The Government has to bear the brunt of the criticism for this sad development. When things like this happen it is fashionable to beat upon the authorities for any perceived lapse or inefficiency. I am quite aware that those who do not have the responsibility to manage anything are usually the best advisors on what has to be done.

With respect to the novel coronavirus, many are unmindful of the fact that we are still in a learning curve. As soon as you think you have figured it out, something else comes up that forces you to recalibrate and come up with a new set of solutions.

So, I would caution that it does not help, in the present environment, to be hypercritical of the Government for having to dump these vaccines. This is not to ignore or discount the mistakes that have been made in the management of the virus. My general posture has been to be empathetic with the Government’s efforts, while being critical of obvious flaws in the roll-out and management of the programme. One such lapse was the recent easing of the restrictions, especially for the entertainment sector, in the midst of an obvious spike in the Delta variant of the novel coronavirus.

I also believe that vaccination sites can be more tightly managed. People who turn up for vaccines should not have to wait three or more hours in the sun. Or worse, be turned away for any reason. It seems foolhardy to me to turn away people who want to be vaccinated while beseeching them to get vaccinated.

At some point, soon, vaccination of the population will have to become mandatory, but this cannot happen until we iron out the kinks in the programme, especially making sure everyone who turns up for the jab gets it without much hassle.

I wonder how much the distress people have experienced at vaccination sites factored in the dumping of these vaccines? Many people have to travel far and at great expense to get to these sites. How motivated were they going to be to set out to these sites in the short window before the vaccines expired?

Also, I believe part of the lack of motivation had to do with the brand of the vaccine. I am not a betting man, but I would bet that if it were the Pfizer vaccine, not a single dose would have been dumped as people would have turned out to receive their shots given the high level of confidence in this brand. I doubt whether this would have been the case for the Johnson & Johnson brand, though. Perhaps it would be so for the Moderna, but certainly not AstraZeneca.

And this is not to pour scorn on the AstraZeneca brand, which, admittedly, is an efficacious and good vaccine. But one has to understand the mindset of people. It was soon after the Pfizer brand was discontinued by the Government that there was a noticeable fall-off in people wanting to get vaccinated. Many seemed to have lost interest in the other brands.

The country cannot fall prey to these reservations. People must be urged to take whatever vaccine is available. They have a duty to themselves and others to do so. Those who wallow in playing the blame game often do not stress the responsibility that citizens have in getting themselves and their family members vaccinated.

Yes, the Government shares a great deal of the blame for the dumping of the vaccines, but what of the unvaccinated and those who still need to get their second dose of the AstraZeneca?

The Government can have the best approach that is humanly possible but, if people are not willing to take the vaccines we may very well have to dump more of them in the future. This would, indeed, be a real tragedy. Resolute, proactive, and forceful pragmatism, with a dose of humility, are still good elixirs in defeating this virus.

Dr Raulston Nembhard is a priest, social commentator, and author of the books Finding Peace in the Midst of Life’s Storm and Your Self-esteem Guide to a Better Life. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or stead6655@aol.com.