Dancehall Artistes Support May Pen Mayor Over Foregoing COVID Vaccination Stance
Some members of the Dancehall fraternity have thrown their full support behind Mayor of May Pen Winston Maragh, who has recommended that Jamaica take a wait-and-see stance toward the COVID-19 vaccine, before any decision is taken to introduce it into the island.
Among those who are cheering on the mayor were Spragga Benz, Tony Matterhorn, Tanya Stephens, and Tanto Blacks.
Mayor Maragh, who is also chairman of the Clarendon Municipal Corporation, made his comments last week at a function in Chapleton Clarendon, a section of which was aired on Television Jamaica’s midday newscast on Friday. In the clip, the Mayor said industrialised nations should go first, while Jamaicans stand back and watch and assess the effects.
“We understand that there is a vaccine, – more than one – vaccines around. But, you know sometime when suppm new come out, yuh caan jus run into it, because you don’t know what effects it might have on you. So we want the big countries dem, like Merica an Canada an England, go ahead an teck di vaccine and let us see how it work fi a likkle while, before we rush into it. Nuh true?” he asked the audience.
“Yes. That’s the safest thing to do,” he stressed. “Yes, So after dat now, we see say yes its working, everything good fi dose people, den nex year wi can seh: ‘Awrite come now, our time now, wi ready fi teck it’, eh?”
The news clip of the Mayor has since gone viral and has been the subject of several memes. In fact, even acclaimed United States actor and comedian D.L. Hughley posted the news item on his Facebook page on Sunday evening, where was an outpouring of support from Jamaicans living in the US and Americans alike.
“Basically… “Y’ALL GO 1st!! Basically,” Hughley wrote.
Most of his followers said they were “backing Jamaica on this one”, while others said they were going to relocate to the island and that other black nations should follow in the island’s footsteps.
The Mayor’s sentiments are in tandem with the stance taken by many Jamaicans at home and in the diaspora, who have expressed misgivings about taking a freshly rolled out vaccine to fight a virus about which there was still a lot left to learn.
Maragh’s statements however, are in stark contrast to the position taken by Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness, who is also leader of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) which the Clarendonian represents.
Holness had declared a few weeks ago that he will be among the first to subject himself to being vaccinated whenever the island gets its supply. He also promised that the vaccine would be made available to the entire Jamaican population, which stands at about 2.8 million, for free.
Speaking recently in Parliament, Holness had also said that by taking the vaccine, he would help to boost confidence in it. He had also asked for his fellow Parliamentarians to help boost confidence in the vaccine, by indicating to their constituents that they should take a more “embracing and supporting posture towards vaccination”.
Holness also said that “you could end up having a problem where we have the vaccine and people not deciding to take it” which “would, in itself, create another problem…,” according to Loop News.
On Sunday afternoon, after Spragga Benz and Tanya Stephens reposted the news video clip of Maragh, several Dancehall artistes joined them in celebrating the Mayor for being fearless and conscientious.
On her post on Instagram, Tanya heaped praised on the Clarendon native.
“Winston Maragh a mi general!” she posted before adding four laughing emoticons, while Macka diamond also in agreement noted: “Same way so”.
Veteran music selector, Tony Matterhorn known for being very abrasive and outspoken also hailed the Mayor.
“Now this is a real leader,” Matterhorn said, while Tanto Blacks noted: “I respect this man he is not a fool.”
Singer Daville and Shauna Controlla were the other artistes who responded expressing their ful agreement with Maragh.
”A di real man this yo, yea man, mek dem tek it before we run in,” Daville noted, while Shauna added: “Real talk… mi rate him u f__k.”
On Tuesday December 8, the Jamaica Observer quoted Holness and former Prime Ministers Bruce Golding and P.J. Patterson as saying that they would be the first to take the vaccine whenever supplies arrive in Jamaica.
Patterson who is 85 years old, even said he was willing to have his vaccination live-streamed to reassure the public of it safety, while Golding said who is 73, said he would also encourage all his family members to get inoculated.
“I’m in the vulnerable group, so I can’t fool around. Once it’s approved by the appropriate authorities – both internationally and locally – I’ll take it,” Golding, told the newspaper.
Holness is seeking to get supplies of the Moderna vaccine, and is expected to receive doses of vaccine for 10 per cent of the country’s population.
Health Minister, Dr. Christopher Tufton has also said that up the 16 percent of the Jamaican population will be vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of 2021, with the first one per cent of the 16 per cent vaccinated by April, another six per cent by June, and the entire 16 per cent by the end of 2021.
Medical practitioners and other front-line workers are expected to be among the first to be vaccinated. However, the consensus in the international scientific community is that at least 70 percent of a country’s population has to be vaccinated in order to curtail COVID-19 transmission.
However, on Friday, December 11, the Nurses Association of Jamaica (NAJ) President Patsy Edwards-Henry told the Jamaica Observer in an interview that health care workers in Jamaica had serious misgivings about the COVID vaccine.
Mrs. Edwards-Henry said the primary issue raised by her colleagues was the relatively short time it took for the vaccine to be developed.
According to the newspaper, she said that at present, fewer than 50 percent of health care workers opt for immunization against Influenza (flu) and that there is likely to be a similar stance in relation to the COVID-19 vaccine.
“That’s a global concern because normally trials take a few years. So persons are a bit iffy as it relates to that, but we do have a proportion who are willing to take the immunisation,” she said.
The NAJ president told the Jamaica Observer in an interview, that while the majority of the NAJ membership is not averse to immunisation against COVID-19, the Minister of Health and his Parliamentary colleagues ought to lead by example and make themselves available to be among the 16 percent proposed for vaccination.
“Front line workers want to lead by example, but we also want our leaders to lead by example. So, it would be lovely if our minister of health would give a statement as to his commitment to taking the vaccine, his colleagues, and then I’m sure everybody else will fall in line,” the NAJ head said.
She also said at the time that it was imperative that a meeting be scheduled by the Health Ministry with public health nurses, who would be the ones responsible for giving these immunisations to find out what are their feelings as it relates to them administering the vaccine.
“Because a lot of people believe it is not safe. Nevertheless, we are not going to say we are not taking it. We are the front line workers and we will lead by example,” she told the Jamaica Observer.
Up to Saturday, Jamaica recorded a total of 12,135 cases of COVID-19. Of that number, 2,882 cases are active, with 8,812 recoveries and 285 deaths according to the Health Ministry.