With an increasing COVID-19 positivity rate and the presence of the Delta variant on the island, Jamaica’s largest communications and entertainment provider Flow, is ramping up its own vaccination campaign. 

The company will host a vaccination blitz for its workforce in partnership with the Private Sector Vaccination Initiative (PSVI) and the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel on Monday, August 30. 

According to General Manager and Vice President of Flow Jamaica, Stephen Price, the company is focused on protecting its team members as well as their families. 

Under the Blitz, each Flow team member and contractor and up to four dependents will receive their first or second vaccine dose.

“We believe that vaccination is critical and the most effective way to protect our employees, our customers, and the broader community. As an employer, we have a role to play in ensuring that our team is not only provided with the facts about vaccination, but also that we facilitate the process for them and their dependents,” said Price.

“Having suffered personal loss as a result of the COVID-19 virus, I’m acutely aware of how important it is to do all that I can to keep my family and team as safe as possible. Our Flow Family has also suffered loss and so, we are doing our part and encouraging fellow Jamaicans to get vaccinated,” he continued.

Sharing that the company was also including its neighbour, C&WJ Credit Union and partnering with The Courtleigh Hospitality Group (The Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, The Courtleigh Hotel & Suites, The Knutsford Court Hotel), Price added, “We are fully supporting the national vaccination efforts. The more persons are vaccinated, the sooner we will see the back of this pandemic and our country will be further along the road to recovery.”

Phadra Saunders, People Director at Flow, says the company has continued to inform and support its team throughout the pandemic. An internal vaccination campaign is underway through which stats and facts from the Ministry of Health and Wellness (MOHW) and the PSVI are shared while team members are encouraged to get vaccinated.

“We also have weekly livestreams where we discuss the pandemic and vaccination.

We promote the national vaccination blitzes and other relevant information via weekly team updates and also prioritize time off for team members to get vaccinated,” Saunders shared.

In July, the company also invited Dr. Melody Ennis, Director of Family Health Services at the MOHW, to discuss vaccination and address the concerns of team members.

Stating that the blitz is the next step on the road to recovery, she continued, “Our leadership and team members also encourage vaccination by sharing their own testimonials about why they chose to be vaccinated. 96 of our team members got their first dose at the PSVI Pilot and we have over 500 persons, including permanent employees, employees on fixed term contracts as well as contractors who work on our behalf registered for Monday’s blitz.” 

Registered employees of the C&WJ Credit Union, the Courtleigh Hospitality Group and other invited tourism players, will also be able to receive their first or second dose at the Flow Vaccination Blitz.

“The protection of lives and livelihoods was foremost in our minds when we decided to host a vaccination blitz at the Jamaica Pegasus.

Working with our partners, Flow and the PSVI, we wanted to ensure that we provided an efficient and convenient way for our team members, their families as well as other tourism stakeholders to protect themselves.

“Together everyone wins in this fight against COVID and helping our team members as well as taxi drivers, craft vendors, security guards and other tourism players to access this service was an easy decision,” remarked Kevin Hendrickson, Managing Director for The Courtleigh Hospitality Group.

In highlighting the significance of the vaccination drive, Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett said: “This vaccination initiative is extremely important because the future success of Jamaica’s tourism sector hinges on our workers being vaccinated. The fact of the matter is, vaccination holds the hope for tourism’s full recovery.  In addition to COVID-19 protocols, it is the only comprehensive way to fight the pandemic and save lives.  I am therefore encouraging every worker in the tourism and hospitality industry to do your part and get vaccinated.”

The blitz, which is closed to the public, will start at 10 AM and will run until 6 PM for registered persons only.