We the concerned citizens of Trinidad and Tobago and members of Zebach Free SDA Church are troubled with the actions taken by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago through the Ministry of Health in coercing private businesses to mandate their employees to be vaccinated against their right to choose. This inevitably will result in a loss of employment for many while creating in our lovely country a type of neo-discrimination in depriving citizens "the right of the individual to life, liberty, security of the person and enjoyment of property and the right not to be deprived thereof except by due process of law" as outlined in our Constitution.

Taking a vaccine should be a matter of choice and not be forced upon anyone by a Government or institution through draconian coercive mandates that punish individuals who refuse, which will inevitably create prejudice, setting the individual vaccinated citizens and business owners against the unvaccinated. Persuasion should always be the motivating force, not fear. It is a matter of conscience and your right to decide if to put a foreign substance into your body that may potentially harm you; your body does not belong to the Government; for us, it belongs to God.

While those in authority claim that being vaccinated reduces your risk of being adversely affected by the Covid-19 virus, the truth is that there have been cases where vaccination did not prevent deaths nor reduce the adverse symptoms. Researched information keeps changing; some show that the new Delta variant and its sub-variants may leave vaccinated persons less protected and more likely to contract and become more adversely affected. This ever-evolving information and the growing number of those suffering serious and life-threatening side effects and deaths from the vaccine makes it that it is only sensible and right that people be allowed to choose whether to vaccinate or not. These risks are real and should not be ignored. Nowhere is it stated that the Government or the makers of the vaccines are willing to be liable if you are seriously affected by the vaccine. Consider this article: "If you experience severe side effects after getting a Covid-19 vaccine, lawyers tell CNBC there is basically no one to blame in a U.S. court of law. The federal government has granted companies like Pfizer and Moderna immunity from liability if something unintentionally goes wrong with their vaccines."

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/16/covid-vaccine-side-effects-compensation-lawsuit.html

This is a disturbing cause for concern.

We call on the Prime Minister and the Minister of Health to hold to the constitution in seeking the good of all its citizens and reverse this inequity and attack against our rights by not forcing private businesses to mandate vaccination on its employees. In a democracy the Government is the servant of the people, not the majority or a few but all, and should act in good faith, not using the technicalities in law to punish those who refuse to surrender to misinformation and intimidation.