GOING further than a group of prominent Jamaicans who have slapped Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton for discriminating against the unvaccinated, reggae singer Tanya Stephens has called on the embattled minister to resign.

Tufton has been fending off intense criticism since he announced last week that the Government would be crafting a calendar of events which could be attended by people who are fully vaccinated against the novel coronavirus.

“There is no basis for this gigantic overreach… It’s my personal business. I am anti-mandate because I distrust this type of vaccine; I have no intention of taking it,” said the outspoken Stephens in an interview with the Jamaica Observer Online.

She expressed scepticism about the efficacy of the vaccine and declared: “Even if the vaccine worked I would be against it — because it’s a personal decision for me.”

Dr Tufton has also been raked over the coals in public for not improving hospital infrastructure to deal with a possible next wave of novel coronavirus variants, and not ensuring that cheaper testing facilities are available everywhere in Jamaica.

Among those weighing in on Tufton’s announcement last week that the Government planned to discriminate against unvaccinated Jamaicans were medical practitioner and human rights advocate Dr Michael Abrahams; chief executive officer of itelbpo Yoni Epstein; chairman of Mayberry Investments Christopher Berry; and economist Dennis Chung.

Dr Abrahams called the proposed policy “divisive” and suggested that it may fuel resistance rather than encourage vaccinations.

“I am for vaccination, I encourage vaccination… Like many persons in my profession I am frustrated by the low level of vaccination we have here because I think it’s in the best interest of the society for most of us to be vaccinated. But on the other hand, I think people have a right to make that decision,” said Dr Abrahams.

“To make a sweeping statement that you are going to discriminate against [the unvaccinated] is unfortunate… When you have that in your messaging it is going to make people even more resistant,” he cautioned.

Citing a study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showing that unvaccinated people previously infected with COVID-19 were better protected against the Delta variant than some people who were only vaccinated, he suggested that the Government’s mandate “makes no sense” against the background of the widescale spread of the Omicron variant.

“During this Omicron surge we got a lot of infections; the majority of Jamaicans are unvaxxed so a lot of those people who were infected during the surge are people who are unvaxxed. So the irony is that you could have a vaccinated person now who is less protected than somebody who is unvaxxed who got COVID over the Christmas,” Dr Abrahams said.

Epstein, agreeing with Abrahams, argued that “no Jamaicans should be discriminated against going to an event — be it vaccinated or unvaccinated”.

“People have a freedom of choice and you know, I think at this stage you know what can happen if you don’t take it [the vaccine] and if you do take it — and that is a choice that should be borne by individuals if they wish not to do so,” the businessman said.

“The rest of the world is starting to open up and we have to. Our economy has suffered enough and it is going to further set back the economy, in particular, small businesses [if we continue protocols and mandates],” Epstein said.

Berry, who has been more radical, wants to see an end to all COVID-19 protocols and referred to the novel coronavirus in a series of tweets as a “scam”. Among the mandates he opposes is mask-wearing for healthy children in light of the low-transmission nature of the Omicron variant.

“… And I don’t wear one any more since I got Omicron and recovered, plus I am convinced that COVID is the biggest scam in 100 years,” Berry tweeted, but added in a follow-up tweet that he was vaccinated.

Chung also called for an end to virus-containment protocols, saying: “I don’t think that the Government should be wasting anymore resources and time in trying to get people to comply. People must protect themselves now.”

Chung is anti-mandate, but he doesn’t view the controversial Government policy to discriminate against unvaccinated people as a mandate, describing it as “a way of mitigating risks”.

“… I don’t think that the [health] minister is forcing anybody to get vaccinated. They are saying that if you want to come to our event, then you get vaccinated, but it’s not forcing you to get vaccinated,” Chung reasoned. He said such measures were being taken by other businesses, and they had the right to.

Still, he suggested that the Government should have gone the route of vaccinated-only events earlier, adding: “Where we are now, I think the virus is endemic and I would support that we move towards lifting restrictions so that people basically take care of themselves and suffer the consequences themselves.”