THE Movement for Social Justice (MSJ) on Wednesday condemned the Government and the Opposition for their respective approaches to the covid19 pandemic.

In a statement, MSJ leader David Abdulah said the party has stayed out of any public debate on the pandemic until now, "not out of any particular confidence in the political leadership of the country, but rather out of respect for our health care professionals who have very competently led us thus far through the pandemic."

He slammed Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar's claims against the integrity of public health professionals at a UNC virtual meeting on Monday.

Abdulah also condemned the ongoing strategy he said had been adopted by the UNC, "which at every opportunity has attacked and sought to delegitimize how the pandemic is being handled, medically."

He charged, "This became outrageous when first one UNC MP (Dr Roodal Moonilal) questioned the World Health Organization’s (WHO) approval of the Sinopharm (Beijing) vaccine."

Abdulah also said Persad-Bissessar's attacks against Chief Medical Officer Dr Roshan Parasram and other public health officials are baseless because these are public servants " who will not and cannot respond to political attacks."

Referring to recent statements by former and current UNC MPs, Abdulah said, "We note that the UNC is now changing its song with respect to the Sinopharm vaccine, after some leading members who are medical doctors openly contradicted MP Moonilal."

He added the UNC's position on covid19 vaccines "is to be deplored since it has contributed to 'vaccine hesitancy' and the possible loss of confidence in vaccinations and in our professional public servants in the health care sector."

The MSJ has a pro-vaccination policy position, he said, because "vaccination is the only proven way to defeat viral pandemics."

He did not spare the Government.

"On the other hand, it is becoming clear to the citizenry that the Government has not done enough to ensure that this third wave of the virus is being contained and suppressed."

Abdulah argued that the institution of a state of emergency (SoE) is not enough to curb rising covid19 cases.

He also said, "Public-private partnerships are not what is required, what is necessary is to properly maximise our public health care sector’s capability."

He suggested the Government focus on faster processing of covid19 test results, reviewing the process of home isolation and sourcing additional medical personnel (including from other countries like Cuba), as additional initiatives to be explored to deal with covid19.

In praising health care workers for their work and sacrifices during the pandemic, Abdulah said Government and the regional health authorities should do more to ensure the better treatment of these workers.

"Consideration should be given to providing transportation and other assistance to the workers during this period; special duty allowances can be considered, among other means of recognising these workers’ invaluable contributions to our nationa