The Citizenship Initiative political party has issued a call on the government to allow citizens the choice to be vaccinated or not while encouraging other measures to protect them against COVID-19.

In a statement, TCI said it has been following the developments with the vaccination mandates and it wants to see the Government adopt a more broad-based approach in its campaign against COVID-19.

TCI reminded that of all the vaccines being procured and offered in Guyana, it is only the Pfizer vaccine that has received full approval while the others remain under emergency use authorization only.

“Therefore, it must be a citizen’s CHOICE to be vaccinated, other measures such as social distancing, mask-wearing and sanitizing are also to be followed regardless of vaccinated status. As shown by Israel, the most vaccinated population globally, persons can still become very ill with COVID despite being fully vaccinated”, TCI said.

The political group said rather than the Government placing all its eggs in one basket, it needs to encourage healthy habits such as diet, exercise and vitamin intake.

TCI also said that it is unfortunate that public workers such as teachers, nurses, and Ministry staffers are being locked out of their livelihoods because they chose not to be vaccinated, adding that if the government wants to implement a PCR testing mandate in lieu of vaccination, then it should make this available for free and use the proceeds from the oil earnings to procure the testing kits.

The Citizenship Initiative said the Government of Guyana should follow all avenues of data both for and against vaccination, and in turn craft policies that will not be discriminatory.

“We encourage all citizens to do their research, weigh the pros and cons, and get vaccinated if they fall within a major risk category. Continue to wear masks, social distance, and live healthily”, TCI urged.

The Citizenship Initiative has been using its social media presence to track the COVID-19 situation in the country daily, producing a well-documented and easy-to-understand daily analysis of the COVID-19 situation in Guyana.

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