Morrison argues GOJ started out on wrong footing with politicians at the forefront giving information and advice

Noted medical professional, Professor Errol Morrison has called out the Government of Jamaica regarding its COVID-19 strategy, declaring that it started out on a wrong footing in the first place.

Professor Morrison, a consultant physician, biomedical researcher as well as former director-general and advisor to the prime minister’s National Commission on Science & Technology (NCST) contents that Andrew Holness has been boxed into a corner where he now desperately searches for help.

In a recently published post, Prof. Morrison contended, “This is a result of the wrong paradigm being used to inform and educate the public about the pandemic and the methods for containment.”

According to him, “The government started out on a wrong footing where politicians have been at the forefront giving information and advice with the medical experts to follow on and merely being asked to make comments on policy directions being taken. This paradigm needs a 180-degree shift to bring the medics out of the shadows and for them to lead the total process.”

Bringing scientific credibility by removing any semblance of politicising

Professor Morrison writes further, “Not only do they bring scientific credibility but also their presence and leadership removes any semblance of politicising, which no matter how the government tries, once the politicians lead, the whole process gets mired in partisanships, etc. It is no wonder therefore that less than 10 per cent of the population has been vaccinated and this hesitancy and poor turnout is also fuelled by a slew of scientific half-truths and outright falsehoods pummelling the social media.” 

He is calling on Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Jacquiline Bisasor-McKenzie and her team, plus the several medical experts who have been very vocal, to take full charge of this campaign.

Arguing that this is the nature of the composition of personnel needed to influence the direction of this vaccination thrust, Professor Morrison says this is necessary to get the population to understand the gravity of the situation.

“It is not a status to be trifled with and to oversimplify via entertainment and entertainers. This requires serious communication away from all politicking and political one-upmanship. Further, there is this focus on COVID variants which is for the main part, a mere distraction as the core approach needed to contain the whole gamut of Coronaviruses is still vaccines, masks, physical distancing, sanitizing and frequent washing of the extremities with soap and water!” Morrison emphasised.

He concluded by declaring, “Let’s halt this dangerous and erroneous path being taken and correct the approach now. Let our medical experts lead.”