Just because Jamaica’s PM Andrew Holness said he did not think his government making vaccines mandatory would pass the constitutional test does not mean that a significant proportion of the population will not be mandated to be vaccinated. It just may not be a national diktat.
What we’re seeing in other countries is that major corporations and public institutions that handle large volumes of people, eg airlines, universities, school districts, etc are mandating vaccines for staff and customers. So, gradually, the landscape for those who do not wish to be vaccinated is shrinking.
Logic suggests that this will become ‘survival mode’ and the norm for large institutions dealing with large volumes of people and so spread vaccine mandates ‘place by place’, which may well avoid constitutional issues of national mandates. So, it’s no surprise that some banks have gone this way, as in Canada:
Delta Airlines will impose higher health care insurance costs on staff who are not vaccinated, with a US$200 a month surcharge:
In Australia and elsewhere medical staff are being mandated to be vaccinated:
A California school district has mandated vaccines for all returning students aged 12 years or over:
California is mulling vaccination mandates for indoor settings, the first state to do so:
San Francisco is mandating proof of vaccine:
We need not go through the full list, but can note this week the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, advised that all students living in halls of residence will need to be vaccinated:
The logic of this is likely to be that all who attend classes need vaccination, to keep the integrity of the housing policy in tact. So, the cordon is likely to spread.
So, public policy in Jamaica is to urge people to get vaccinated.
But, we shouldn’t be surprised to see the call for mandates coming from a wide range of operators as vaccines become more available.
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Jamaica: Political Economy 