My View on Mandatory Vaccinations

 Mandatory Vaccinations

My Thoughts!

"A lot more people gonna get sick and plenty more gonna die"

-Gaston Browne 

Here in Antigua & Barbuda the Prime Minister, the Honourable Gaston Browne has mandated that there will now be mandatory vaccinations among the citizens of the twin island country. Is this right?, Will people vaccinate? Will there be division in the county? Here are my thoughts.

    This mandate affects all areas in Antigua and Barbuda! Said mandate, directly affects the rights of persons to decide. Persons being able to have this right is very important to getting them to take the vaccine. I think people are scared and misinformed from all the different media outlets and social platforms competing with correct and incorrect information. From my perspective, I think that the force tactics are the wrong way to go about it. When persons are feeling conflicted about doing something important and they have an authority in a dictator- like  fashion telling them they must do something, it makes them want to do the opposite. Moreover, more consideration and action could have been done before they went immediately into mandatory vaccinations. All options should have been tried before going towards the last resort. There were many talks on the radio, vaccination centers, some doctors upon visit but there could have been more creative with the way they got through to the people.

    I think that persons should be able to decide whether they should take the vaccine or not. Most persons who were not of the belief to vaccinate prior to the mandate still will not take the vaccine. Many persons have lost their means of employment, cannot enter many government and private institutions and are unable to handle important business in an easy or timely manner. People who have not vaccinated have many reasons as to why. One of the main reasons is because persons do not know the general purpose for a vaccine. One of the most important issues Antigua and Barbuda has is when people not only choose to stay misinformed and ignorant but choose to spread this ignorance to others. Conversely, it is important for us to note that some persons have no choice but to not take the vaccine due to medical issues. Many people have not taken the vaccine but some persons have taken it to save their jobs and way of life. 

    As a result of the mandate, there has definitely been divisions in the country. It has gotten so bad that there is a debate between vaccinated and unvaccinated persons. It is almost like there is a life long feud that has been going on between the two parties. Outside of the two argumentative parties you have the persons that are indifferent. This holds back the country and it's people because if the country is unable to fully open and continue operations it affects everyone living in the country. Additionally, there has been somewhat of a civil dispute between persons who felt the need to protect for their rights and the government and police. It got s o bad that there was tear gas and rubber pellets shot at persons. The vaccination dispute should not have gotten this far and should not have been handled in such a manner because it causes persons to continue to be pushed away from the idea of taking the vaccine. 

To conclude, I believe that persons should have the choice to take the vaccine because persons should be able to get a full understanding and decide if it something that they want to put in their body. Persons who have decided not to take the vaccine due to them feeling like they don't have enough information or that they're afraid of the effects it will have on their body should have the right to do so. As a person that is vaccinated and made that decision for myself, I believe all persons should be able to have that right.