US Embassy working with govt to introduce vaccine incentives
PLP leader: If you are vaccinated, that is the reward
NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Opposition Leader Philip Brave Davis said yesterday that anything the government does to increase voluntary vaccination of the Bahamian populous, including monetary incentives or a vaccine lotto, would be welcomed by the opposition.
“I think any initiative to have our people appreciate and understand the worth of being vaccinated as opposed to unvaccinated with this invisible enemy that has been haunting us for the last two years, just under two years, is a welcome initiative,” he told Eyewitness News.
“The hesitancy, the reluctance for whatever reason — either the misinformation that is out there, people’s own weariness about medicine period and research in what I call ‘pharmaceuticals’, which informs views of persons as to whether or not they take it or not.
“We need to find ways and means to remove that fear, remove that hesitancy, remove that reluctance, and any initiative, be it monetary or some form of some reward for doing it, would be welcomed.
“For me, the reward would be that you are better off — that if you happen to contract the virus, you would be less likely to die, less likely to be hospitalized. If you are vaccinated, that is the reward.
“But if more is required, then more should be given. I am encouraging persons to get vaccinated.”
In a recent interview with Eyewitness News, Minister of Health Renward Wells said there is consideration to partner with the private sector to offer incentives for vaccine uptake following suggestions of the same.
Meanwhile, US Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Usha Pitts said the embassy was working with the Bahamian government and other partners to “see if we can introduce some of these incentives here in The Bahamas”.
In the US, some states are offering $100 for newly vaccinated people.
Davis maintained that vaccination should be voluntary, and encouraged the Bahamian people to take the jab to protect themselves and their families.
It is a call not dissimilar to that of health officials, who continued to urge vaccine uptake to reach herd immunity now that sufficient supplies of vaccines doses have arrived in country.
“I believe in free choice and persons need to choose, but understand in choosing what is the consequence of that choice,” Davis said.
“The consequence of choosing not to be vaccinated is more detrimental to you than not to.”
The Bahamas continues to experience a surge of cases and hospitalizations.
A physician, who had not been vaccinated, became the latest victim of the virus on Sunday, according to health officials, who revealed that around 50 percent of healthcare workers have been vaccinated despite the impact on the sector.
The government hopes to achieve herd immunity by Christmas.
To date, more than 171,000 people have been vaccinated, with 51,150 people fully vaccinated — around 13 percent of the population.
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