-says Ramkarran; projects ‘incalculable harm’ from ‘vaccine politics’

FORMER Speaker of the National Assembly and one of the Executive Members of the minority Parliamentary Opposition ‘Joinder’ parties, Ralph Ramkarran, has been added to the list of persons critical of Opposition Leader, Joseph Harmon’s call for the suspension of the Sputnik V vaccinations.

“It is beyond belief that a person of the stature of an Opposition Leader, who has himself taken the full dosage of Sputnik vaccines, would make such an extraordinarily, incendiary, public call in a vaccine resistant atmosphere, to suspend the use of the Sputnik vaccine based on unverified reports,” the Senior Counsel said in his Sunday column, the Conversation Tree.

Although recognising Harmon’s concerns of “fake vaccines” entering Guyana to be baseless, Ramkarran affirmed that the Opposition Leader could have aired his doubts in a manner that did not bring harm to members of the public.

“This is a chillingly pyromaniacal attempt at politicisation by pouring fuel on unverified foreign reports that can only result in harm to the Guyanese people, many of whom are supporters of Mr. Harmon’s party,” the veteran politician indicated.

Ramkarran, a former Presidential Candidate for the New and United Guyana (ANUG), believes that Harmon’s call for the suspension of the Sputnik V vaccinations represents his “scant regard” for the dangers of higher vaccine resistance among Guyanese.

“Those reluctant Guyanese who were persuaded to enter the vaccine compound will rush out and those who could have been persuaded to do so, will remain outside, watching the sparks fly,” the attorney-at-law projected.

Ramkarran also recognised that Harmon’s objections to the vaccines have come at a time when Guyana’s COVID-19 death toll is fast approaching 500, with several deaths being recorded every week, and when vaccinations have been globally hailed as the only means of exiting the pandemic.

“At this time when all responsible Guyanese should be careful about what they say publicly about vaccines, vaccination and the pandemic, and when all responsible Guyanese should be urging others to take the vaccine…Opposition Leader Joe Harmon, last Thursday, shouted ‘fire!’,” Ramkarran highlighted.
He also recognised that Harmon’s damaging comments also come at a time when Guyana is faced with two forms of devastation – the COVID-19 pandemic, and the unprecedented floods which have already recorded water levels as high as 16 feet, and have disrupted the lives of more than 36,000 households across 300 communities nationwide.

“The harm of vaccine politics will be incalculable,” Ramkarran surmised.

He reasoned that Harmon’s utterances are likely to have a greater impact on communities that are considered political strongholds of the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC), since their supporters are less likely to heed the advice of the government, over the position of their preferred party.

Already, places such as Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) have been recording low uptake levels of the vaccines.

“It would be doubly difficult for the health authorities to persuade the people of Region 10, the Deputy Chairman of which, a supporter of Mr. Harmon’s party, has already died from complications of COVID, to take the vaccine. The widely accepted welfare of the Guyanese people should never be a matter of partisan politics,” Ramkarran maintained.

He reminded that as at June 17, 224,853 persons in Guyana, representing 46.2 per cent of the targeted adult population, had taken the COVID-19 vaccine. Of these, 94,243 persons or 19.4 per cent have taken the second dose. Region 10 with, 14 per cent uptake, lags far behind the other regions which have surpassed 40 per cent.

“Mr. Harmon’s call has, for the suspension of the Sputnik vaccine, which has already been safely taken by 61,000 persons, based on the frivolous allegations made, have been easily and quickly rejected and ridiculed. It is a clear attempt to politicise Guyana’s vibrant vaccination programme,” Ramkarran argued.

The Opposition Leader had raised concerns relating to the lifesaving vaccines being procured at increased prices. Health Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony responded to the concerns, explaining that this was due to the global demand and shortages of the vaccines. The government had said that it remains willing to stand whatever cost necessary to ensure that the people of Guyana are vaccinated.

So far, Guyana is one of the few countries that have managed to secure enough vaccines to immunise its entire adult population. Harmon had also questioned the government’s move to procure the vaccines via a “middle man” in the form of Sheik Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum, who is a member of the ruling family of Dubai.
Both Minister Anthony and President Dr. Irfaan Ali had defended the move, explaining that global demands have made the vaccines difficult to come by, and that the established linkages with the royal family assured Guyana sufficient access to the lifesaving injections.

Further, the Opposition Leader referenced, in his concerns, a batch of fake Sputnik V vaccines discovered in Mexico. He indicated that the batch contained 200,000 doses of the Russian-made jabs; however, Reuters news agency has confirmed that there were only about 5,000 doses of the fake vaccines were found.

To further put such concerns to rest, the Food and Drug Analyst Department of Guyana issued an independent statement explaining that Guyana has a strict importation protocol, which aligns with those that have been implemented in leading countries including the United States and the United Kingdom. The Department had informed too that all of the imported vaccines come with serial numbers that can be traced back to the vaccine manufacturers.

Harmon had also criticised the government for administering vaccines that have not yet been approved by the World Health Organization (WHO); to this, President Ali reminded that almost every country began using the vaccines prior to receiving formal approval.

Moreover, real-life data and studies have shown that the Sputnik V vaccine carries an efficacy rate of 97.6 per cent, and according to the health minister, the Russian ‘jabs’ are even able to fight against new and emerging variants of the coronavirus.

Ramkarran concluded that “this is a time when, if there are discrepancies, doubts and inefficiencies, dangers, or deliberately discriminatory practices, they should be brought to the attention of government officials or those in authority as soon as possible, without creating dangers and tensions in the society by dangerous and divisive demands.”