Private Companies Commended for Seeking Supplies of COVID-19 Vaccines for Staff

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, has praised private sector entities taking steps to get their staff vaccinated against the coronavirus (COVID-19).

“I was informed that many private sector companies are seeking to ensure that they can get supplies of COVID-19 vaccines for their staff,” he said.

The Prime Minister said this demonstrates that they are “not just waiting on the Government,” but are being proactive by taking steps to source vaccines.

“But that, of course, will take place in an overarching policy to ensure that whatever vaccine is acquired is approved by the Government, and that the distribution and administration are along the lines of policy set out by the Government,” Mr. Holness added.

He was speaking during the 16th Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) Regional Investments and Capital Markets Conference, held recently at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, in New Kingston.

Mr. Holness noted Jamaica’s participation in the World Health Organization’s (WHO) COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) Facility which, he said, will enable equal access by member countries to vaccines, regardless of income levels.

He said, however, that out of an abundance of caution, “the Government is not relying wholly and solely on COVAX,” but is “continuously seeking supplies through other sources.”

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister hailed several stakeholders for their inputs in the national COVID-19 response, describing them as “good partners.”

These, he said, include: churches, trade unions as well as the private sector, noting that they along with healthcare workers and members of the security forces, among others, “have all contributed significantly to ensuring that Jamaica withstands and is now in a good position to recover even stronger from the pandemic.”