Striking A Balance: The Issue of Mandatory Vaccination

The Covid-19 pandemic has thus far defied resolution despite the availability of vaccines since December 2020 on an emergency authorized use basis
This leaves tens of millions of unvaccinated persons in high-income, vaccine-available countries as well as hundreds of millions more in low-income, vaccine-scarce countries as fertile pools for the spread of the coronavirus and the appearance of new variants.

The issue of mandatory vaccination in the region requires striking a delicate balance to avoid socio political fallout. Dr. Terrence Farrell addresses the issue.


The Private Sector’s Response to COVID-19 in the Caribbean

As outlined by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2009, drawing on lessons learned from the previous SARS and MERs outbreaks, a pandemic can be severely disruptive to individual societies as well as the global economy and requires a ‘whole-of-society’ response.  

A ‘whole-of-society’ approach does not mean mere consultation. It goes well beyond that to providing guidance, communication, and coordination of plans so that key services can continue to be delivered. The stakeholders include business, trade unions, universities, religious and charitable organisations (NGOs). A ‘whole-of-society’ approach also does in no way derogate from a government’s leadership of the management of a crisis. The alternative approach may be described as ‘command and control’ where the Government attempts to exercise complete control over all stages of crisis management – readiness, response and recovery – without effectively or meaningfully engaging the private business sector and NGOs in these processes.