Senior citizen calls for mobile vaccine service

September 13, 2021
Winston Johnson
Winston Johnson

Shanna Monteith

STAR Writer

Winston Johnson, 85, of Spring Garden in St Thomas, wants to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, but said he is hindered from doing so because of a lack of mobility.

Johnson told THE STAR that he would greatly welcome a mobile vaccination unit to administer the jab to him in the comfort of his home.

The closest vaccination site to Johnson's house is the Morant Bay Health Centre, which is about 30 minutes away, by car.

"It's not that I wouldn't take it, but right now I can't move ... the foot them won't allow me. I can't even stand up long, and I can't manage the driving like one time, so if they bring it to me that would be good because I don't have anything against it," he said.

Johnson said that he believes that young people should definitely be vaccinated and has been actively encouraging them to do so, especially since not doing so could affect their schooling.

"I always tell them that now is not like my days, where you could get ahead without too much schooling. Now, education comes first, and if they don't have it they can't make it in life. In my days, education wasn't like now. After you go school to a certain grade, you don't have anything else to do because there wasn't any high school or college, so you go farm or learn trade. Now, if you don't further your education and you can't read, you can't make it in life," he said. "Right now, is vaccine is the key because without it, is like you can't get access to education."

But fellow senior citizen Linda Francis, 71, from the neighbouring community of Soho, shared opposing views. She is adamant that she will not take the jab, even if she was being paid to do so. For protection, the elderly woman said she will continue to stay away from public spaces.

"Due to fi mi sickness, and so on, mi not taking it. Mi have everything, see me all a walk with stick. I have my mask in my bag and if a nuh compulsory, mi nuh come out. I don't know what to tell you say, because if you no take it, you a dead; and if you take it, you still a dead, so it's one way or the other. Anything a anything, yaw," she said.

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