Judge Esco Henry, a St. Vincent and the Grenadines High Court judge, will render her verdict in the Vaccine Mandate Trial on Monday, March 13.
The verdict of Judge Henry will be rendered one day before to the southern Caribbean island’s National Heroes Day celebration.
According to the Public Health Modification Act of 2021, all frontline employees in St. Vincent and the Grenadines were required to get the accessible Covid-19 vaccination.
Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves, then, stated that individuals who refuse to take the vaccine will be compelled to step down once there is no exemption.
In August of 2021, there was an anti-vaccine demonstration in Kingstown, the islands capital, with the main opposition party and other organisations requesting that the government not change the Public Health Act to make the vaccination mandatory for some government sector employees.
The demonstration left the island’s prime minister, Ralph Gonsalves, wounded as he navigated a hostile mob on his approach to parliament. This tragedy did not derail the government’s vaccination mandate agenda.
In November of 2021, Gonsalves stated that he did not want anybody to lose their job, but that the island could not return to normalcy unless frontline and strategic governmental and private sector employees received the vaccination.
Dr. Gonsalves opined, then, that the economy of such a small nation and the health of its people would be severely impacted by the pandemic.
As the vaccination requirement took full effect in January 2022, the Teachers Union and Public Service union on the island, together with other civic organisations, staged several demonstrations in the nation’s capital.
Monday’s verdict is eagerly awaited on the island according to reports as more than 700 persons were left jobless by the mandate.
