And today we asked the Minister of Home Affairs about this mandate, since his police officers also fall under public officers. He's in agreement with the decision and says that it's necessary for the protection of others since, while the vaccine does not prevent contracting or dying from the virus, it can reduce the symptoms and transmission, ultimately saving lives. He also added that courts in the region have ruled in favor of similar mandates, so he feels the same would happen in Belize.
Hon. Kareem Musa, Min. Home Affairs
"If we did not have the vaccination more than 50% of our people vaccinated, we would have far more deaths. If you look at the data every day, you see the amount of red and then you see like 3 green on the end and we have more than 50% of our population vaccinated and so there is proof that it actually works. Yes, if you have underlying conditions it might not help, but at the same time in terms of the public service these are individuals, police officers, doctors, nurses, teachers - that interact with members of the public every single day and so they have to not only protect themselves but the people that they are serving. Police officers have to deal with members of the public, so that is why it's now saying that by December 15th we should all be vaccinated to protect each other. It's a lot bigger than all of us. It was a decision made months ago and we've given it time. I think December 1st was the original date. This was about 3 months ago that we had set and that date is now fastly approaching and so we have given another 15 days additional time, but we are only saying this is for public officers and this particular issue when it comes to a mandate, has been addressed not just in the Caribbean, but internationally as well in other countries, in the great United States - there are court judgements saying that for individuals who are working for the government and who are interacting especially like doctors and nurses and you are interacting, it is your obligation to get vaccinated, because you have to protect others as well that you are dealing with. Like the region, like the Caribbean and the United States and other parts of the world the judges will find that it's not unconstitutional, because you are protecting other people, not just yourself. It's not about us, it's about others."
