Westmoreland Health Dept. Trains 73 Covid-19 Vaccine ‘Ambassadors’

The Westmoreland Health Department has recruited and trained 73 COVID-19 vaccine ‘ambassadors’ to help encourage greater take-up of the jab in the parish.

The ambassadors, which consist of teachers, hotel managers and other professionals, were trained between October 19 and October 21.

Speaking with JIS News, Parish Health Promotion and Education Officer, Gerald Miller, said the ambassadors, drawn from the parish’s five health districts, have been active in the field mobilising members of the public to take the vaccine.

He pointed out that the initiative is already reaping positive results, as several persons who were indecisive have since received the jab.

“Since the training in Negril, the vax ambassadors planned a vaccination on Sunday of last week at the White Hall Citizen Association Resource Centre in Negril and we were able to vaccinate 18 persons on that day. We wanted 50 persons, but we were grateful that we were able to get 18 people to be vaccinated.  So, this programme has gotten off very good and we are looking out for great things happening,” he said.

Mr. Miller pointed out that a second vaccination blitz will be staged on Thursday, November 7, under the initiative.

“We are planning shortly to have a vaccination on Coke Street [Savanna-la-Mar] next week Thursday (November 4), so one of our vax ambassadors down there will be helping to mobilise the persons, and we also have activities planned for November in Ashton and in Beeston Spring, so we are taking the vaccine programme into the communities,” he explained.

In addition, Mr. Miller informed that healthcare workers continue to play their part to encourage greater take-up of the vaccines.

Meanwhile, vaccine ambassador, Patrick Morris, told JIS News that he is happy to play his part in educating the residents of his hometown in Whitehall on the benefits of receiving the jab, as well as help to dispel myths about the vaccine.

“The underlying thing is that I really want to help get the country to return to a semblance of normalcy, so the more people who are vaccinated, the easier it is for us to return to that,” he said.

“My community of  Whitehall has a population of approximately 5,000 residents and as such, we believe that we should do everything in our powers to ensure that we have a smooth-running community, and being a part of the citizen association it was really a no-brainer for me to take it to the citizens’ association and then work our way from there,” Mr. Morris added.

The entrepreneur said he helped coordinate a vaccination drive at the Negril Craft Market on Tuesday (October 26), where 18 people were inoculated.

The vaccine ambassador initiative forms part of the ongoing national vaccination programme to encourage more Jamaicans to get vaccinated.