The Uttar Pradesh way

THE pandemic caused a lot of workers to be made redundant. Regaining our freedoms and opening up of the economy are going to require workers. Since employment levels aren’t anywhere near pre-pandemic days, my question to the authorities is why continue with vaccine mandate which further deteriorated the labour situation when the emerging wisdom and science is revealing that while vaccination has served its purpose it may no longer be prudent to continue.

Let us not squander the benefits of hindsight and adapt to new realities by getting ahead of the curve instead of playing catchup, as we did when we engaged with a preventative solution that is vaccination in the midst of a full-blown pandemic.

Let’s look and learn from the state of Uttar Pradesh in India with a population of 204 million in their state sanctioned early adoption and use of ivermectin which they credit helped them manage the pandemic. Our current status quo is due in part to our reluctance to consider good alternatives to vaccination and moreso effective COVID-19 management practices out there that strongly suggested a forceful and comprehensive prevention and early treatment regime.

Let us rescind the vaccine mandate and widely adopt ivermectine as Uttar Pradesh has shown. Also, ivermectin is affordable just under $F5 million for a dosage given once a week for six weeks for every man, woman and child in Fiji. I should know because I bought some for myself from India, the worlds’ largest manufacturing base for generic drugs.

MAREKO VULI

Delaidogo Settlement, Wainibuku Rd, Nakasi