An article published in the Guyanese media which claimed Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley criticized the country’s vaccine program in order to defend Trinidad and Tobago’s, is being described as “misleading, disrespectful and potentially damaging.”

Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, who serves as an advisor to Guyana’s Health Ministry, claimed that Dr. Rowley was “out of line” for allegedly suggesting Guyana’s use of Russia’s Sputnik Covid-19 vaccine was unsafe, due to the drug not being approved by the World Health Organization.

But in a statement issued this morning, T&T’s Foreign and CARICOM Affairs ministry condemned the falsehoods, insisting that Dr. Rowley said no such thing.

“The comments and Statement attempt to associate Prime Minister Rowley with views which he does not hold and which he has never expressed. It is noteworthy that in his published commentary Dr. Ramsammy could offer not one single quotation from the Prime Minister to support his false allegations, nor did Dr. Ramsammy offer a shred of evidence to support his misleading claims,” the Foreign Affairs Ministry stated. 

“At no point in time has the Prime Minister ever disparaged the vaccine programme in Guyana, nor has he ever implied that the vaccines in use in Guyana are defective or unsafe; and it is extremely unfortunate that the Advisor to the Ministry of Health of Guyana would use falsehood to publicly attack the Prime Minister of a friendly neighbouring country,” it added. 

What did Dr. Rowley really say?

Dr. Ramsammy’s comments were in response to statements made by the Prime Minister during a press conference at the Diplomatic Centre in St. Ann’s last Saturday. 

Saying that the vaccination program in Trinidad and Tobago is “as good as and probably better than most, certainly in the CARICOM, and worldwide”, the PM noted that of the 14 CARICOM countries, the only country that has received into its borders more vaccines than Trinidad and Tobago is Guyana.

“The Guyana government took a decision that Trinidad and Tobago did not take. And that is, early in the proceedings, to use vaccines that were not approved by the World Health Organization. As a result of that, Guyana had a larger volume of vaccines available and we did not participate in that and that explains it. So if one is looking at WHO-approved vaccines, it would be clear that Trinidad and Tobago got within its border- more vaccine than any other CARICOM country. And that includes Jamaica, which has twice the population of Trinidad and Tobago,” the PM said. 

Foreign Affairs Ministry also condemns “reprehensible and slanderous” statement by Guyana’s Business Chamber. 

In addition to condemning the comments made by Dr. Ramsammy, T&T’s Foreign Affairs Ministry noted a statement made by the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which also criticized the Prime Minister.

“The Chamber Statement’s disgusting slur to the effect that Prime Minister Rowley ‘fulfils his historical trait of demonstrating scant regard for the lives of Guyanese’ must be regarded as a particularly scurrilous attack against the Chairman of CARICOM,” the Ministry said.

“Ironically that slanderous Statement was issued by the Georgetown Chamber mere days after Prime Minister Rowley instructed the relevant arms of his Government to organise much needed relief supplies and assistance for Guyana, in response to the Government of Guyana`s request through CARICOM for help with their response to heavy floods. Further, Dr. Rowley, as Chairman of CARICOM has been well recognized for his robust and consistent advocacy and frequent communication with US and global leadership on behalf of all CARICOM people, including the people of Guyana, in pursuit of greater access to COVID-19 vaccines for our region,” it added.