Several Jamaican hotels have signed a program led by the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA), which will see them collaborate with the Government of Jamaica to pay for the COVID-19 vaccines.
Clifton Reader, president of JHTA, informed the Government about the availability of several member hotels to fund vaccines for their employees on a voluntary basis.
READ: Jamaica expects Cuba, India, China for more COVID vaccines
“We have a growing list of members committed to partnering with the government in the quest to vaccinate as many people as possible. Obviously, we are particularly focused on the thousands of staff members in the hospitality and tourism industry, many of whom are breadwinners for their families and pillars of their communities. Our goal is to purchase and make vaccines available to anyone, ”said Reader.
He reiterated that it would not be mandatory for employees to be vaccinated.
Noting the recent reports by the Minister of Health, Dr. Chris Tufton, on Jamaica’s challenges in accessing COVID vaccines due to the limited availability of approved sources, Reader said that “JHTA expects new sources to become accessible to us soon and with our assistance from the private sector, Jamaica will have an increased supply of vaccines. ”
The government is targeting some 480,000 Jamaicans (16 percent) to be vaccinated in 2021 under the COVAX Facility.
“The idea is to see the extent to which any type of government-to-government agreement would allow us access to some of its vaccines from countries where manufacturing takes place,” said Tufton The Gleaner recently.
The minister said the government will seek to obtain safe vaccines from China, India and Cuba to protect the population from the virus.
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