MANDEVILLE, Manchester — For half of his life, 60-year-old Malichi Sinclair has been a taxi operator in this south-central parish.

Yesterday, he was among Jamaicans who turned up at the Manchester Health Department’s COVID-19 vaccination drive and opted to take the single-dose Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine as he believes it saves time.

“I just wanted to get through it and just be done with it. The other one, for me, is just a waste of time. If I can come here today and get one jook [jab], then why not?” he said as he awaited his vaccination.

The experienced transport operator said he took the COVID-19 vaccine to protect himself, as he interacts with the public daily.

“It is for my own safety, and I have a family. I am dealing with the public as a taxi driver, so it is very important for me,” said Sinclair, who plies the Mandeville to Spalding route.

Faith Davy-Lyttle, regional health promotion education officer at the Southern Regional Health Authority, told the Jamaica Observer that other vaccination drives are planned for Clarendon and St Elizabeth.

“We are fine with the turnout. People are just coming in… We are promoting the one one cocoa full basket. We are observing the COVID-19 protocols, so we don’t want a lot of people gathering around us. The idea is people come, they are vaccinated, and [return] to their regular business,” she said.

“We want to encourage persons around Mandeville and in Mandeville to come out and get vaccinated. For St Elizabeth and Clarendon, we are going to be having similar features where we have our onsite vaccination going on. We are going to be pushing our COVID messages. We are giving away gift baskets,” she added.

The health team was promoting the two-dose AstraZeneca and the J&J vaccines as the Government has intensified vaccination efforts to administer doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine with an October 31 expiry date.

“We are encouraging our transport [operators] to come out and be vaccinated. We are encouraging our business community to come out and get vaccinated. We are also encouraging persons walking by to come and get vaccinated,” said Davy-Lyttle.