Twitter users across the Caribbean are today (December 3) criticising the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX) Facility for demanding St Vincent and the Grenadines pay US$70,000 for vaccines the country donated to neighbouring Trinidad and Tobago.

Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves, speaking with NBC Radio on Wednesday, said the 5,000 AstraZeneca vaccines were handed over to Trinidad in May.

At the time, the jabs were close to their expiration and, with St Vincent experiencing a lull in uptake, later donated to Trinidad.

Upon learning of this donation, COVAX wrote to the Gonsalves administration arguing that instead of giving the AstraZeneca doses away, Vincentian authorities should have returned them.

“COVAX said to us what we gave to Trinidad, we should not have done so, we should have given them back and they would give whoever they want. I think they had somewhere else they wanted to give them – not in the Caribbean. We gave them to Trinidad so we will have to pay for those. It’s about US$70,000,” Gonsalves said.

The Vincentian prime minister added that on learning of the demands, his Trinbagonian counterpart Keith Rowley offered to pay for the life-saving medicines, which Gonsalves refused.

“I said, ‘No. No. No. No. No. We gave you.’ So we have to organise — I believe the payment has been made already, the US$70,000 to COVAX because if we are getting now through the US, I don’t want to have any indebtedness to COVAX…,” Gonsalves argued.

“We are a people of solidarity; that’s how we function. Social solidarity, regionally, globally and nationally. Love thy neighbour as you love yourself. Trinidad has been very generous to us in many, many ways. I can’t give you that and ask you to pay for it. Absolutely not. That ain’t how we stop. We nah stop so,” Gonsalves added.

The Caribbean Twitterati, reacting to the report, slammed COVAX for its unconscionable response to the vaccine donation.

According to a few, the global vaccine initiative’s response stands in contradiction of its mandate, whereas the COVAX Facility was created to provide equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for middle- to low-income countries.

More reactions:

More, still incensed by the report, said that it was unfair for St Vincent to be penalised for giving the vaccines away since they weren’t wasted and donated to a neighbouring country that utilised them all.

Many others found COVAX’s response heavy-handed, contending that it reeks of covert geopolitics.

Based on its press releases by Gavi, co-director of the vaccine-sourcing initiative, the COVAX Facility has its own mechanism in dealing with vaccine donations.