MIND THAT PRECEDENT: CPSA calls on govt to be careful with message sent by vaccination incentives

CPSA president urges public to consider “bigger picture” of health and safety

Health minister says govt considering hybrid vaccine lotto

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — While it stopped short of offering support for COVID-19 vaccine incentives, the Consultant Physicians Staff Association (CPSA) acknowledged incentives can motivate vaccine uptake.

However, CPSA President Sabriquet Pinder-Butler called on Bahamians to look at the “bigger picture” in safeguarding their health against the ongoing pandemic, and encouraged the government to be cautious with the precedent that could be established with incentivizing the life-saving medicine.

“There are other countries that have offered incentives,” she told Eyewitness News.

“There are persons who feel that should they be offered some sort of gift or token that would give them more of a reason to get vaccinated and things along that line

“Certainly, I think from the position of health and safety, public health reasons, we certainly would want people to look at things from a bigger view, simply because you don’t always want to encourage something to be done for monetary value or other incentives when they are more for something that can be done to safeguard your health.

“The expectation might be that might be what is necessary for other things, and so, we just have to be careful with which certain things are done.

“Although, having said, yes, we do know that perhaps another reason for persons to become vaccinated would have been perhaps related to travel and job security and those sorts of things, but we don’t necessarily have a position as to us not supporting it, but just to be cautious with how that avenue is to be taken.”

In a recent interview, Minister of Health Dr Michael Darville told Eyewitness News the government was exploring introducing a hybrid lotto and monetary incentive, among other benefits, for individuals to take the jab.

“We support it because as you reach that point, you need to give incentives and you need strong public education to ensure that those who are on the fence as it relates to [the] vaccine move swiftly to get vaccinated,” he said.

More than 31,000 people were vaccinated in October.

That figure fell to just over 10,000 in November — a third of the figure the month before.

As of November 27, a total of 146,441 people had been fully vaccinated.

Pinder-Butler pointed out that the association took a different position amid discussions of a vaccination holiday under the Minnis administration.

It said the proposed holiday was discriminatory against various groups “simply because we know that vaccine hesitancy is prevalent in the country and we appreciate that there are reasons why persons perhaps would still have some hesitancy with getting the vaccine, and that’s [why] we think it is important for all of us to continue open dialogue”.

She said it is important to understand the continued fears and concerns surrounding vaccination and address them.

“The conversations are still very relevant and very important and for us to be able to appreciate persons’ fears and concerns with what is happening with COVID,” Pinder-Butler said.

The vaccination holiday then Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis promised was never implemented.