Munroe questions who will be liable if something goes wrong after getting the jab
NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Despite having been hospitalized for COVID-19 symptoms, prominent attorney and Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) candidate for Free Town Wayne Munroe said yesterday that his anti-vaccine position has not changed and he still does not intend to take the COVID-19 vaccine.
Munroe tested positive for the virus last week and was admitted to Doctor’s Hospital after he required oxygen to help with his breathing.
Yesterday, he advised that he was being discharged and will continue outpatient care at home in isolation until he has fully recovered.
In an interview with Eyewitness News, Munroe noted that despite his recent diagnosis and hospitalization, he still questions the safety and efficacy of all COVID-19 vaccines.
He reiterated his position on the matter, alleging that no government or organization has taken liability for if anything adverse were to occur to those taking the jab.
“For all the people who talk about ‘it is safe’, nobody has taken responsibility for it, so if it does something to you, nobody is responsible for it,” he said.
Asked whether he believes if he was vaccinated he would not have needed to be hospitalized, the queen’s council said he doesn’t know that that’s the case, noting that vaccinated people continue to be impacted by the virus.
“The bottom line to it is this — if the vaccine is so safe, why is nobody taking responsibility for it, because the only reason you would be slow to take responsibility is if you have to pay a lot of money”, Munroe said.
As of August 7, some 108,506 doses of the vaccines have been administered in The Bahamas, of which 62,863 people have received the first dose and 47,580 people are fully vaccinated. That number includes residents who got fully vaccinated abroad and who have registered with the ministry.
Last month, when COVID-19 cases began to spike and hospitalizations stood at 90, Director of the National HIV/AIDS and Infectious Disease Programme Dr Nikkiah Forbes advised that none of the COVID-19 hospitalized cases at Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) or COVID-19-related deaths were individuals who were fully vaccinated against the virus.
Forbes noted at the time that 98.3 percent of those patients at PMH did not have any vaccinations and a smaller number had had one dose and all got COVID less than 14 days before getting the vaccine.
Last week, Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Delon Brennen indicated that fewer than five percent of people fully vaccinated in The Bahamas have been infected with COVID-19 and fewer than one percent of recovered patients have been re-infected with the disease.