Basil Jarrett | Vaccine rewards

There are two things in life that Jamaicans cherish more than anything else: One is the two-piece spicy-leg and barbecue-rib combo popularly known as the KFC Meal Deal. The other is our American visitors’ visa. And just last November, important developments in these two essential services left us nervous with trepidation, as the COVID pandemic showed no sign of letting up.

In the case of the former, the fast food giant announced plans to create a plant-based, faux fried chicken meal to sit alongside its current original, barbecue and spicy offerings. In the case of the latter, the Biden administration had made it mandatory that only vaccinated visitors will be allowed into the country. Now I’ve tried a plant-based diet before and believe me, it wasn’t fun. No matter how many ways you cook beans – fried, boiled, stir-fried or curried, the end result has always left me feeling bland, hungry and irritable. But I persisted and although I went all of last year without the taste of jerk pork, stew beef, curried mutton or anything from KFC, I’m not so sure we could survive that long without the almighty US visa. And so, after struggling for months to persuade Jamaicans to take one of the available COVID vaccines, Uncle Sam stepped in to help us solve the vaccine hesitancy problem once and for all.

Could this, therefore, end up being the key to COVID vaccinations after all – rewarding and incentivising persons for getting the shot? Thanks to Joe Biden and his B-2 visa application form, some of the most vocal anti-vaxxers in Jamaica have been reduced to a barely audible murmur. Close our schools, take away our two-for-one Thursdays, ban our weekend parties … but don’t you dare touch our US visas. Certainly, the US vaccine requirement has not quite got us to the 80 per cent national vaccination sweet spot, but it may hint at a possible solution to our state of vaccine hesitancy.

YES, FREE CHICKEN

Since Mr Biden’s announcement, more Jamaican companies and organisations have begun to embrace the whole idea of vaccine rewards. Banks have given away free saving accounts, KFC has offered free chicken – yes, real chicken – and Supreme Ventures has even thrown in a few special lottery tickets for the vaccinated. Even Professor Gordon Shirley has defended the idea that Jamaicans ought to be rewarded for investing in their, and the country’s, future. Prof Shirley suggested that vaccinated Jamaicans should be allowed to attend public events as long as they are well-organised, structured and monitored in accordance with COVID-19 safety protocols. That cry has now got louder in the wake of the Reggae Boyz’s recent elimination from the current World Cup qualifying campaign. Now I don’t necessarily want to wade into that debate as I find it moot at this point. The Boyz were never going to close such an unassailable gap after the sputtering campaign that we had endured, and to blame the loss and elimination on that one match in front of an empty stadium was pure scapegoating. Our goat was curried from a long time ago.

So what does that 80 per cent vaccination Holy Grail look like anyway? Well, Denmark, with over 80 per cent of its population vaccinated, has already removed all COVID-19 social restrictions as they no longer consider COVID a social threat. Nightclubs have reopened, late-night parties have resumed, and masks, hand sanitisers and social distancing are no longer required on public transport. Now while I’m sure most Jamaicans would be hard-pressed to find Denmark on the world map, the lessons are interesting. For me, the biggest takeaway is that some countries seem to be finally rounding the bend and a return to life as we knew it may not be too far away. Even the quality of the chatter on social media has improved as more and more well-informed and well-thinking persons have entered the fray, disputing fantasies about Bill Gates and 5G, and raising the overall quality of the conversation in general. We have to be hopeful that this continues.

But as with everything in life, there’s a flip side to this coin. The pro-vaccine-rewards army now seems to have been drawn squarely against the ‘vaccine-incentives-are-discriminatory-and-undemocratic’ crowd. That conversation is unfortunate and tragic as society has already been built around various systems of discrimination which are inherently good for our citizens. To drive an automobile, you must not only pass a competency test, but you must also pay a fee. To enrol in school, you must already be immunised against certain illnesses. To hold certain offices or positions, you cannot have been convicted of certain crimes or offences. This debate may very well turn into another useless sideshow, distracting us from the fact that if we are to ever come to grips with this pandemic, vaccines are going to be an absolutely vital weapon.

And that’s why I support rewarding persons for taking the vaccine. It not only encourages those of us who are desperate to get back to normal life, but it also thanks those who’ve already taken the plunge and are leading by example. Which left me wondering. When KFC debuts that plant-based faux chicken, what would be the tougher sell to Jamaicans? Getting the jab? Or ordering that two-piece abomination with a serving of coleslaw?

Major Basil Jarrett is a communications strategist and CEO of Artemis Consulting, a communications consulting firm specialising in crisis communications and reputation management. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.