Taking better aim at covid19 targets

WE KNOW from tragic experience that the post-Christmas period will likely be characterised by a rise in covid19 cases and deaths.

But add to this the highly infectious new variants in circulation, the continued vulnerability of half the population to this disease, and “compliance fatigue,” and it is clear the State is correct to brace for a challenging moment in our battle against this disease.

This need not have been the situation.

It is deeply disappointing that the year 2021 came to an end with the 70 per cent target for vaccination set by the Government unmet. Time and time again we were told, by the Prime Minister and Minister of Health Terrence Deyalsingh, that such a target was within reach.

This was in the face of enough evidence suggesting substantial pockets of hesitation among the population. A Market Facts and Opinions (MFO) survey in May warned that only 35 per cent of the country was willing to take a vaccine.

Additionally, key leaders failed to endorse the multiple suggestions made by the Government that it was weighing mandatory covid19 vaccination for specific populations such as schoolchildren (who must already be vaccinated in order to attend school).

The Cabinet will be tempted to point fingers at the Opposition’s appalling decision to politicise its most recent safe-zone initiative for state workers, as well as the failure of key civil-society groups, such as trade unions, to act in the interest of protecting the safety of all their members and not only the wishes of some.

But there is enough blame to go around.

The Government must today confront the reality of its own failure to achieve herd immunity by the end of 2021, despite the terrifying advent of the delta and omicron variants and record-breaking numbers of deaths.

Repeatedly, the Cabinet was warned in 2021 that its communication and public education strategy was simply not working.

It is true that in the face of political machinations as well as downright misinformation it is difficult to sway the converted.

However, that some people who previously declined to take the jab have changed their minds over the last few weeks simply because of the Government’s announcement of a policy that could potentially affect their pockets is testimony to the flimsy motivations – and not science – that always lay at the root of a lot of anti-vaxxer sentiment.

Just as the population needs to do better, the Government needs to look carefully at itself and its approach thus far and acknowledge that it can be more effective.

Already the safe-zone policy for state workers – which this newspaper called for in several editorials last year – is helping to shift numbers, even if legal contests loom.

Even more policies like this one (which should be expanded to public government buildings) need to replace old-hat attempts at moral suasion in 2022.