Cabinet approves mandatory vaccination
THE Government has put down its fist in the name of protecting the nation from any COVID-19 outbreak by making an uncompromising warning that a person will lose his or her job if they did not take the COVID-19 vaccines.
Minister for Health and Medical Services (MHMS) Dr Culwick Togamana issued the government statement when he delivered the weekly Prime Minister’s nationwide address on Monday.
According to Togamana the Cabinet had approved on Friday the mandatory administration of COVID-19 vaccines for:
· all public servants and employees of the central and provincial governments and eligible members of their families;
· all staff of state-owned enterprises [SOEs] and other government institutions / subsidiaries and eligible members of their families;
· employees of private companies undertaking work at the front-lines – such as shipping agents, airlines, stevedores, crews of fishing vessels and eligible members of their families.
He said Cabinet has agreed that persons coming under these three groups in the provinces where COVID-19 vaccination rollout had already commenced including Honiara, Western Province, Choiseul Province, Guadalcanal Province and Malaita Outer Islands must now receive their first doses of COVID-19 vaccination by 31st August 2021 and their second dose by 30 November 2021.
“Any person covered under the above categories who chooses not to get their 1st dose of vaccination by 31st August, will not be allowed to access their place of employment, and any person in the three categories not fully vaccinated by 30th November 2021 will be taken as having chosen to self-terminate their employment,” the Minister of Health said.
Minister Togamana said the Cabinet also agreed that for provinces where vaccination rollout has not yet commenced, all employees under the above 3 categories will have 60 days [2 months] to get their first dose of vaccination and the last date to take their 2nd dose of vaccination will be 12 weeks from the date of the closing day for the 1st dose period.
“Like those in Honiara, Western, Choiseul, Guadalcanal provinces and Malaita Outer Islands, any person under the above categories who chooses not to receive their first dose by the end of the period for taking the first dose, will not be allowed to access their workplaces, and if they still choose not to be vaccinated by the closing date of the 2nd dose period will be taken as having chosen to self-terminate their employment,” he issued the advised.
The Cabinet has also decided to set a national vaccination target to achieve 80% 1st dose vaccination coverage nationally by 30th November 2021, and an 80% 2nd dose vaccination coverage nationally by 28 February 2022, he said.
Government said the action is taken to not punish Solomon Islanders but to help protect the country from the deadly virus.
The announcement was also received with mix reaction from the public yesterday.
Its understood that many eligible people in residing in the capital Honiara still don’t want to take their 2 doses.
The government believes that their Cabinet decision stemmed from lesson learn from other well established medical system that were overturned by COVID-19.
One government official said that while many countries stranded to be vaccinated, we do the opposite thus thousands of vaccine doses soon to be expired.
“COVID-19 will soon be here and will remain for years from the current trends.
“Be responsible and don’t wait,” the official said.
Meanwhile, Solomon Star understands that the general public expressed that the government does not respect their constitutional rights anymore.
By ANDREW FANASIA
Newsroom, Honiara
