Healthcare workers across Saint Vincent and the Grenadines are now being required to take Covid-19 boosters at five (5)-month intervals in order to be eligible for employment in the health sector.
The move was announced in an August 5, 2022, memorandum to staff from the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment.
The memorandum sated: “Cabinet on Wednesday 27th July, 2022 directed that all health care workers, as defined in Statutory Rules and Orders Number 28 of 2021, must be vaccinated against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and must receive boosters at five (5) month intervals after an initial two (2) dose series of an approved vaccine, in order to be eligible for employment in the health sector”.
The move means that the Government of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines has once again changed the terms of employment for some of it workers.
The move comes as teachers and other civil servants who lost their jobs in November 2021 as a result of not taking a Covid-19 vaccine are battling to be reinstated.
The Government is maintaining that the workers abandoned their jobs after failing to take the Covid-19 vaccine by the November 2021 deadline.
The SVG Teachers Union is calling for a full reinstatement of the teachers they say were dismissed.
The government is asking unvaccinated teachers to reapply for their jobs by August 15, 2022.
Source : One News SVG