The Public Health amendment bill will be tabled in parliament on August 5th, and prime minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves has reiterated that his government intention is not to make vaccination mandatory but that it will be made a requirement for frontline workers to get vaccinated.
He said frontline workers who refuse to be vaccinated can either be transferred or get another job that is not on the frontline.
The prime minister noted that the world is still facing a pandemic and while SVG did not go into a state of emergency, the country is still battling a public health emergency hence the need for frontline workers to be vaccinated.
The government has already made it clear that the Public Health Amendment bill 2021 does not involve any legal penalty or punishment on anyone who fails and or refuses to take the vaccine or test for covid-19.
The prime minister said persons can get exemptions once they can produce a medical certificate from a doctor who has a genuine reason why they cannot take the vaccine.