UNC MP questions vaccine strategy

UNC Chaguanas West MP Dinesh Rambally on Tuesday questioned whether Trinidad and Tobago is taking an "anti-capitalist" approach to procuring covid19 vaccines.

In a statement, Rambally claimed that Chief Medical Officer Dr Roshan Parasram "seems to have espoused a rather blinkered approach to accessing vaccines."

He said, "It is all well and good that he has led us into the Covax machinery. But without a further complementary option for accessing vaccines, this seems penny wise, pound foolish."

Rambally argued, "The modest cost-saving of going through Covax exclusively is not being weighed against the massive cost to the economy by failing to aim for herd immunity in a timely fashion."

He wondered whether an anti-capitalist approach is "the reason why our depending on charity is hailed as more appropriate than dealing directly with multi-national pharmaceutical corporations.

"We have only now managed to reach an agreement with India through the efforts of (Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister) Dr Browne, though belatedly. Meanwhile other Caribbean countries have gone on to access vaccines from India based on its Vaccine Friendship programme."

Rambally urged: "It is high time that we stop hiding behind WHO/PAHO and find the courage to act in the face of clear and present danger."