COVID JAB RUSH Renewed deal for NYC
The Jamaica government, for example, this
week announced an ambitious mass vaccination
program targeting inoculation of 65 percent of
its nearly three million people by March of next
year.
Jamaica’s Minister of Health, Chris Tufton
said authorities were serious about getting the
vaccines into the arms of Jamaicans but fears
that there might not be enough qualified health
professionals to administer the doses to ordinary
citizens. Others in the sector are also worried
that many locals might refuse to be vaccinated,
falling for suggestions that the doses are harmful
to long term health.
“We have to use people who are qualified. The
truth is we are limited. One of the big reasons
why we can’t do more than those targets that
have been set is because, as of now, based on
these plan, the bottleneck is the people to implement,
the technical people to implement,” he
said while unveiling the program in the capital.
The island expects to receive 50,000 doses
of AstraZeneca from India later this week and
15,000 from global umbrella Covax, also expected
this week with the remainder totaling 125,000
doses scheduled to land on the island by mid
May. The largest batch, however, will come via
1.8 million doses from the African Medical Supply
Platform. Mass vaccinations are scheduled
for weekends.
“We are going to be setting up very large
centers. We are going to have to pull on more
than just public sector doctors and nurses. In
order for us to move the numbers at the pace
we would like, we are going to have to depend
Caribbean L 14 ife, MARCH 5-11, 2021
on the private sector doctors and nurses, retired
doctors and nurses, the medical teams at the
Jamaica Defense Force (JDF), for example, and
several other competent individuals,” Minister
Tufton said.
Jamaica is now joining Barbados which has
led the regional vaccination program that it
started last month with a sizable donation from
India. Smaller amounts were shared with neighboring
Caribbean countries. Vaccines are being
administered by appointments only. Walk-ins
are being refused to avoid congestion, officials
made clear.
Meanwhile, a Chinese shipment of 20,000
doses of the Sinophram medicine arrived in
Guyana this week to be used among health and
other front line workers in addition to people
over age 60.
Continued from Page 3
astation of the coronavirus, the
resulting economic disaster, and
the systemic inequities exposed
and exacerbated by these compounding
crises.
“In a moment of national
crisis, the New Deal was an
acknowledgement that investment,
that bold leadership
and bold policies, would lift us
from the depths of the depression,”
he said. “But, in the decades
since, we have too often
retreated from that principle.
“As we face compounding
crises today, we need a Renewed
Deal to not only recover from
the pandemic but to address
many of the underlying failures
and inequities that existed
long before it,” Williams
added. “The Renewed Deal is
ambitious but not hypothetical.
Stewardship of the city,
the state, and its people in this
moment demands action, and
action now.”
In over 120 pages, the report
outlines recommended policy
and budget priorities on both a
city and state level, spanning a
wide range of topics.
Williams said many of the
proposals included are aligned
with legislative initiatives or
platforms advanced by “dedicated
grassroots advocacy
organizations, leaders in their
respective areas.”
While the Renewed Deal
comes in response to the
COVID-19 pandemic, the report
notes many of the issues it
addresses are “systemic, and
predate the current crisis.”
The public advocate said the
Renewed Deal is not an effort
to get “back to normal but
to advance, with a more just,
equitable and thriving New
York than existed one year and
one week ago.”
Specifically, the Renewed
Deal centers immediate and
long-term recovery efforts in
the areas of housing equity;
education and opportunity;
infrastructure and the environment;
civic and community
empowerment; and justice,
health equity and safety.
In the coming months, Williams
said his office will work
through legislative and community
engagement strategies
to advance the principles
and policies detailed in the
Renewed Deal, “combatting the
notion that cuts or conservative
approaches will suffice.”
Continued from Page 3
A healthcare worker draws the coronavirus
disease (COVID-19) vaccine from a vial
at Dignity Health Glendale Memorial Hospital
and Health Center in Glendale, California,
U.S., Dec. 17, 2020. REUTERS/Lucy
Nicholson/File
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