KINGSTON, Jamaica—Physician Dr Princeton Brown is urging persons who are vaccine-hesitant to use their freedom of choice responsibly and get vaccinated.

Brown, who is also a COVID-19 specialist, made the appeal while addressing persons at a recent JN Circle Thrive Together Life Class. The Life Classes are a three-part online series aimed at preparing participants to navigate uncomfortable discussions about the COVID-19 vaccination.

“COVID-19 is a levelling disease, it doesn’t matter how much money you have, if there is no oxygen in the island, you can’t buy oxygen. It doesn’t matter in which echelon of society you fall, this will affect you,” he said. “It (the virus) is killing. My thing is if someone is offering you the slightest chance of prevention from the extremes of this disease, why not take it?”

Cordel ‘Skatta’ Burrell, entertainment executive and dancehall producer, who contracted the virus earlier this year, also spoke at the Life Classes. Highlighting how grateful he is for the support he received from his family members during his illness, Burrell sought to highlight how deadly the virus is. He expressed particular sympathy for persons who are terminally ill and have contracted the virus.

Cautioning persons who are against the vaccine to be more responsible, the well-known producer said there are more urgent matters that warrant public resistance.

“The people who (are) trying to create uprising and mayhem, they are not doing anything good for this country, because there is a lot of stuff that they are to create mayhem about, such as the crime and violence, but they are not,” he pointed out.

He went on to share that some of his colleagues in the entertainment industry who have had COVID-19, still refuse to admit that they were wrong in not supporting the drive for vaccination. He expressed that while he is not a fan of vaccines, he intends to take his COVID-19 jab.

“I am not going to be a martyr for no belief or conspiracy theory. I have not been vaccinated yet, but I have done enough research to know that even if you have the vaccine and you catch COVID, it takes you away from the critical moments,” he said.

The JN Circle Thrive Together Life Class is a special series developed by The Jamaica National Group as part of its COVID-10 Vaccination Campaign: Immunise Saves Lives. The campaign is in support of the national COVID-19 vaccination programme and aims to arm people with information so they can make the best decision to protect themselves and their families.

The latest episode was held under the topic ‘The Virus and the Vaccine: Dispelling Myths about COVID-19’.