The Government of Antigua and Barbuda is looking at ways to increase the number of people who are showing up to be vaccinated as the numbers have slowed significantly over the last few weeks.
Notes from this week’s Cabinet press briefing said, “Although the issue of “vaccine hesitancy” challenges all countries where the take-up of the vaccine has slowed, the Cabinet has agreed to implement additional measures to incentivize more persons to become vaccinated.”
To date, approximately 37,500 adults have taken the first dose of the vaccine.
Health Ministry experts are estimating that an additional 30,000 adults will be required to take the vaccine for the country to achieve “herd immunity.”
Without mandating the taking of the jabs so far, the Cabinet took a series of measures to move the un-vaccinated adults to the vaccinated column, to enable the rebounding of the economy by the re-opening of the tourism market –both arrivals by sea and air—without endangering the working people who will most assuredly meet the visitors.