As some Western St. Thomas residents demand greater public education and more vaccination blitz in the parish, Prime Minister Andrew Holness lauded the efforts of the health team in the parish.

Despite myriad challenges in the eastern parish, Prime Minister Holness says residents appear open and receptive to vaccine knowledge and most of the hesitancy is simply based on genuine concerns. He says accurate information will be the most potent tool in ridding the population of vaccine hesitancy. He noted that water, electricity and road problems are some of the issues that prevents persons from getting to the vaccination sites.

The Prime Minister congratulated persons who came out to be vaccinated and encouraged them to be ambassadors for their communities, in efforts to get more persons vaccinated to lessen the impact of COVID-19 on the island. He also extended his gratitude to the health professionals who were on location for their continued hard work and their dedication in the fight against the COVID-19 virus.

The Prime Minister insists the more people are vaccinated the sooner things will return to normal. St. Thomas recorded the first confirmed its first COVID-19 case and is among the parishes with the lowest vaccination rates.

More in this CVM Live story from Neika Lewis: