Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar has criticised the government for its handling of the healthcare system, particularly during covid19.
She outlined a 50-point health plan, which she said the UNC would implement if voted into government.
Speaking at the UNC’s cottage meeting in Chaguanas on Monday, Persad-Bissessar said the government had mismanaged the pandemic to the extent that 5,000 people had died. “This is a government that fooled the nation into believing that there was a ‘parallel healthcare system’ during the pandemic when the reality was different, and 5000 people are now dead because of state-sanctioned murder during the covid pandemic.”
She reiterated when the UNC asked about the risk of covid19 in 2020, the CMO said the main concern was gastroenteritis.
“This is in January 2020 when the UNC flagged it; we asked for meetings; we sent suggestions to deal with it. “Don’t worry about that, worry about gastroenteritis, that’s what the goodly doctor said. Thereafter, 5,000 people died, hundreds of thousands were given a fake vaccine and Roshan Parasram was shamelessly awarded the ORTT when, under his watch, over 5,000 of our citizens died.
“He banned unconstitutionally the practice of open-air cremations.”
Initially, the UNC accused the government of not working hard enough to get vaccines from the Indian government, with the Opposition Leader writing to the Indian ambassador. Then, the party raised concerns about covid19 vaccination, citing the safety of the vaccine following its quick development. It endorsed the vaccine and later complained about ineffective distribution by the government. The Opposition Leader took the AstraZeneca vaccine on August 21, 2021. The party encouraged people to get vaccinated but argued against mandatory vaccination.
Efforts to contact the Opposition Leader and other Opposition members for comment on these statements were unsuccessful up to press time.
Among the plans announced by the Opposition Leader were a review of the Children’s Life Fund, the installation of a centrally specialised Burns Unit close to the Point Lisas Industrial Complex, the creation of a national Stroke Rehabilitation Centre and a national Cardiac centre, the implementation of a National Health Card, and building and operationalisation of catheterisation laboratories and dialysis at all major hospitals with the requisite staffing.
Editor’s note: The Health Ministry has said it used covid19 vaccines approved by the World Health Organization (WHO). No vaccine was used until it had undergone rigorous scientific and clinical testing in keeping with the highest vaccine testing standards, as do all other vaccines used in TT.
In the frequently asked questions section of its website, the ministry advised, “By getting vaccinated, you are reducing your risk of disease, hospitalisation, severe complications, and even death, for both you and your loved ones. The trial results for the approved vaccines showed that they were very effective at preventing moderate and severe disease, and in
