Member of Parliament for St. Peter, Asot Michael, on Tuesday appealed to residents to do the right thing and get vaccinated.
During debate on the Education Amendment Bill 2021, Michael said it’s important that the country achieves herd immunity so that the economy can rebound.
“I am saying to the citizens, to the residents, to the brothers and sisters, to all responsible people, to teachers — go and get vaccinated. Do the responsible thing and do it immediately. We need to achieve herd immunity in this society so we can return this country to normalcy, so we can continue to have economic growth and prosperity,” Michael said.
“If we do not do the right thing, not just in Antigua and Barbuda but the entire Caribbean, we risk wiping out an entire civilization of Caribbean people. Can we afford to risk that? Can we?
“So I say to my beloved residents, citizens, brothers and sisters, let us be responsible citizens, let us do the right thing, let us encourage all our family members, our children, the members of our household, our friends, our co-workers to get vaccinated and do so immediately before it is too late, so we can achieve herd immunity, so we can have a safer country, a safer society, a prosperous society, a healthier country,” he added.
Choose life over death
The MP recalled that back in 2015 he was placed on a ventilator and encouraged people to get vaccinated so that they don’t end up in a similar situation.
“For 10 days I laid on a hospital bed by Dr. Joey John’s clinic there in Gambles on a ventilator. It’s the most painful, the most uncomfortable [thing] you could ever experience in your life when you can’t breathe, when you have to have that machine breathing for you and you’re gasping for breath,” he recalled.
Meanwhile, Michael said residents should not choose death over life or ignorance over scientific and medical evidence.
“How many more people must die? … How many more people must go up to Mount St. John Medical Centre and be placed on ventilators? Is that what we want for the children of our country?”
Michael: ‘I’m not going to lose my seat’
Michael said he supports the mandatory vaccination policy fully, adding that the government should have implemented it even earlier.
But he acknowledged that the government’s decision is an unpopular one.
“I know that the honourable Prime Minister is very unpopular in the country right now and that Mr. Speaker, among other things, it is because of the tough decisions, the hard and definitive decisions that he and his Cabinet and his government must make,” he said.
“I don’t mind being unpopular, I don’t mind lending my voice once I believe in what I’m saying, and what I’m doing is right and just.
“I don’t mind joining with the Prime Minister in being unpopular. One thing I know for sure though is that even though what I say or my position that I might take may be unpopular, I’m not going to lose my seat. I don’t know about the Prime Minister but I know the love that the people of St. Peter has for me is stronger than the love in City South.”
Michael said even though he has supported an “unpopular policy” of the government, he is assured of the genuine love of the people of St. Peter and he remains confident he will retain the seat in the next election.
