KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, CMC – The Barbados-based regional pollster and political scientist, Peter Wickham, says he doesn’t imagine that the controversy surrounding the usage of the COVID-19 vaccine will play a big function within the final result of the following normal elections in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
“I actually don’t see the large deal,” he stated, including, “I’m a bit shocked that 5 years on, this factor even comes up. I sense that the Vincentians have assessed the federal government as having handed the COVID take a look at.
“The truth that they had been in a position to win that election was primarily a press release of the inhabitants’s approval of how COVID was being managed,” Wickham stated, referring to the November 2020 election, which passed off a 12 months earlier than the mandate got here into impact.
“The economic system is again on its ft now and shifting ahead, and clearly the COVID take a look at was handed. So, I don’t know there’s numerous forex or relevance when it comes to going after that subject once more,” he added.
Vincentians are extensively anticipated to go to the polls by November this 12 months, forward of the February 2026 constitutional deadline, with the ruling Unity Labour Occasion (ULP) searching for an unprecedented and historic sixth consecutive time period in energy. Its essential problem will come from the primary opposition New Democratic Occasion (NDP). Within the final election, the ULP received 9 of the 15 seats within the Parliament.
In late 2021, the federal government of Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves mandated that a big part of the general public service take a COVID-19 jab or be deemed to have deserted their jobs.
Consequently, a whole bunch of staff misplaced their jobs and a number of other commerce unions. The St. Vincent and the Grenadines Lecturers’ Union, Public Service Union, and Police Welfare Affiliation took the matter to the courts.
However whereas the Excessive Court docket dominated in favour of the dismissed staff, the Court docket of Enchantment, in a 2-1 majority, overturned that call.
The unions have already indicated that they may take the matter to the London-based Privy Council, the nation’s highest and remaining court docket.
Talking on a radio programme right here on Sunday, Wickham, who has performed analysis work for the ULP, was requested for his opinion on the function the mandate would possibly play as Vincentians elect a brand new authorities.
“I’m shocked that that will nonetheless be a problem, as a result of I believe that most individuals have gotten previous it in some ways,” Wickham stated.
“My drawback with that entire vaccine mandate factor was that I at all times thought that the vaccine mandate was obligatory, and I’ve a bias in that regard, that I’m an individual that believes that — I went to highschool and I obtained vaccinated, and I believe that folks, when you’ve gotten a public well being disaster, ought to get vaccinated.”
Wickham stated he respects spiritual rights however “had challenges understanding why those who had no scientific foundation, they usually had been contraindicated, they didn’t have any medical situation, they weren’t spiritual, they had been simply insistent that they’re not going to take the vaccine”.
The pollster stated that he has finished analysis for the United Nations Kids Fund (UNICEF) on vaccines and vaccinations that discovered that “numerous these individuals who refused to take the vaccine, they had been doing so as a result of they need to make a political assertion.
“And I believed it was unlucky. You’re going to make use of that sort of disaster to make a political assertion? However that’s what it was.
“I do have a bias on this regard, however I’m a bit shocked that that’s even a problem nonetheless, as a result of my factor is, a lot has occurred since that. Vincentians have gone previous that,” Wickham instructed radio listeners.
The NDP, whereas supporting COVID-19 vaccination, opposed the mandate, with a number of of its legislators stating that they’d not obtained the jab, leading to them having to watch particular protocols in Parliament, reminiscent of sporting a face masks.
Wickham expressed the view that if the NDP had been in energy, they most likely would have mandated COVID-19 vaccination,’ as a result of that’s the factor. I imply, whenever you’re in management, you must make arduous choices.
“We didn’t have a mandate in Barbados in the identical manner, as a result of our inhabitants was compliant; all people went like sheep and obtained the vaccination, myself included. … They didn’t have vaccine mandates within the overwhelming majority of European nations, both, just because all people was taking it, folks had been lining as much as take it and say, ‘Yeah, when can I get it?”
Wickham stated there have been vaccine mandates in locations “the place there have been sections of the inhabitants that had been resilient and saying, ‘we’re not taking this vaccine.
“So, the uptake was sluggish. To open the economic system, the federal government needed to make some powerful choices. And I’d hazard a guess, if the NDP had been in energy, they’d have finished the identical factor, as a result of they’d have been going through the identical sort of drawback that Ralph Gonsalves was going through, the place he’s saying, ‘Look, we’ve got to get this economic system going once more and nation open and whatnot.”
Wickham stated he was fascinated that individuals who refused to take the jab took it to go on trip in the US, noting additionally that folks must take the yellow fever vaccine to go to Jamaica.
“And, everybody goes and will get a yellow fever vaccination,” Wickham added.
