Tufton mum on vax only events pushback after Adam Stewart's tweet

Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton has declined to comment on pushback against a plan by the Government to roll out events only for persons who are vaccinated against COVID-19.

Tufton disclosed the move on Wednesday, indicating that the Government will soon launch an official calendar of events.

“Over the next week or so, the Government intends to announce a series of events, an events calendar if you will, for over the next four months, that will now allow more persons to congregate around certain events within a controlled setting. The single most significant criterion of that is that you must be vaccinated,” he said while speaking at the official opening of the new COVID-19 field hospital at the Savanna-la-Mar Public Hospital in Westmoreland.

The announcement has drawn mixed reactions.

Among the critics is Executive Chairman of Sandals Resorts, Adam Stewart, who bashed the move as discriminatory.

He argued that the decision would go against the overwhelming majority of Jamaicans who have made a personal choice.

“What happened to 'Out Of Many One People'?” Stewart tweeted.

Contacted by The Gleaner for a response, Tufton declined to comment.

Approximately 22 per cent of Jamaica's population is fully vaccinated, the second worst compliance rate in the Caribbean.

Haiti tops the list.

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