Lovell says public distrust of vaccination programme began with PM Browne’s secret inoculation with embargoed drug
Harold Lovell, Political Leader of the United Progressive Party (UPP), has condemned Prime Minister Gaston Browne for accepting the Moderna vaccination illegally early this year.
Last weekend, Browne admitted that he and others took the vaccine in private while it was under embargo by the United States. This means that the drug should not have been distributed outside that country.
Accordingly, Lovell says the public’s apprehension about Antigua & Barbuda’s vaccination programme began with the Prime Minister, himself, and his secret inoculation.
He says Browne’s confession does not sit well with him and, further, it demonstrates poor leadership.
As the country’s leader – and taking into account the public’s clear vaccine hesitancy – Browne should have approached this issue differently, Lovell says.
He describes Browne’s leadership as one that embraces illegality, as evidenced by his vaccination deal, and says it undermines the people’s confidence in the process.
The UPP Political Leader says Browne is now demonstrating hypocrisy in his efforts to force others to be vaccinated.
Meanwhile, residents continue to question the legality of PM Browne carrying a Vaccination Record Card issued by the US Centres for Disease Control & Prevention, when, allegedly, he was vaccinated here, in Antigua.
