Tufton says change in vaccination position for politicians only a clarification

 

Health Minister Dr. Christopher Tufton has said while politicians are part of the priority group to receive the COVID-19 vaccine they were not considered among the first to be inoculated.

 

On Tuesday when the health ministry unveiled its interim vaccine plan, government officials were slated to get the jab at the same time as healthcare workers.

 

However, in a media release Thursday night, the health ministry said members of parliament, the judiciary, parish councillors, senior civil servants and senior technical officers would be vaccinated after key groups of persons.

 

Speaking Friday on Radio Jamaica's call in programme, Hotline, Dr. Tufton said the media release was to provide clarity on the vaccination plan. 

 

"The perception was given in the initial unveiling of the plan that we were going to be inoculating or providing vaccine jabs to government officials in the first instance and the numbers there in the plan as government officials numbered over 5,000; and this was not the case in the first instance. I mean they were certainly part of the priority group but the priority groups are many and the first priority would have been health care workers, the over 60s, the government officials or leaders who are critical to managing this process," he sought to explain.