Tourism Industry: Jamaica’s Low Vaccine Take-Up Worrying

One major player in the tourism industry is expressing concern about Jamaica’s low vaccine take-up. Only over three hundred (300, 000) doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine have been administered so far. According to Negril Chamber of Commerce President and prominent hotelier, Richard Wallace, Tourists, and tour companies are starting to question Jamaica’s low COVID-19 vaccine take-up.

He says very soon, Jamaica could see a decline in visitor arrivals if the country’s vaccination level doesn’t improve. There have been concerns about vaccination becoming mandatory as the government tries to tackle vaccine hesitancy. 

Up to Thursday, July 29, approximately one hundred and eight thousand (180,000) Jamaicans had been inoculated with one dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, and more than one hundred and twenty-seven thousand (127,000), fully vaccinated. Approved at 7.10 pm.

The government is looking to vaccinate approximately two million citizens by March 2022.