Cortizo suggests unpaid leave for unvaccinated officials

President Laurentino Cortizo announced on Friday, August 13, that the possibility is being analyzed that officials who do not get vaccinated against Covid-19 go on leave without pay.

“They have no right not to be vaccinated or to infect other people,” said Cortizo and said that all officials must be vaccinated.

He insisted that they have no right to infect people who are vaccinated and who are working.

His statements were made during a speech at the delivery of the renovations to the José Dolores Carrizo school in Ocú.

He congratulated the young people of the country because it is impressive to see the percentage of young Panamanians getting vaccinated and this is confirmed by the report of the vaccination process that he receives every night.

He stressed that this is very important not only for the health of those who are vaccinated, but also for their family members, but it is also an opportunity to be a little more free, regardless of whether “we have to continue using the mask.”

 Cortizo said he is concerned about the deaths from Covid-19 that are reported every night and that are broken down by district, age, diseases and also if one or two doses had been applied.

He said that in the report on Thursday, August 12, except for one person who had a dose applied, the rest, that is, more than 95%, are from citizens who had not been vaccinated.

“The unfortunate thing”, he said that the townships where they lived have already had the vaccination program and “even more unfortunate is that their children, grandchildren and granddaughters and the parents of that person who died have a huge conscience because they did not they convinced them to vaccinate ”.

“There is no excuse because although the deceased suffered from hypertension, diabetes and other comorbidities, they did not die from these diseases, but from Covid-19,” he said.