BELIZE CITY, Fri. Mar. 19, 2021– On Friday, March 19, the Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Patrick Faber, received his first dose of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine. He was asked by the Ministry of Health and Wellness to take part in a public inoculation to aid in quelling any doubts that may be lingering in the public’s mind about the vaccines.

“So far, it’s a pain-free process, it’s something that I encourage people to do,” Faber shared.

He noted that while he was requested to take the vaccine as the Leader of the Opposition to bolster public confidence in the jab, he is also, by profession, a teacher, which is one of the groups which are scheduled to receive vaccinations in part A of phase two.

“It’s about encouraging those who are at this time able and qualify to get the vaccine to come and get the vaccine because, of course, the ultimate goal is to vaccinate every single Belizean who can get the vaccine,” Hon. Faber said.

He remarked that it is his view that the benefits of taking the vaccines outweigh the known risks associated with it.

“While I’m not a medical doctor, I looked at how many deaths that they have actually…well, the facts will show you that even those deaths that they think are related may not be related to them. So the benefits of vaccinating this significant amount of our population, if not all, far outweigh any kinds of issues that they are having. And for us who can’t be picky about what type of vaccine we use, given the fact that most of it are donated, I think this is the best way forward and so I encourage people to come.”