On August 13, two Vincentian writers, Shefflorn Ballantyne and Ann-Marie Ballantyne, celebrated the official in-person launch of their provocative new work *I Do Not Consent: The Vincentian Chapter of the COVID-19 Plandemic* in Kingstown, the capital of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. This launch marked the fulfillment of a public promise the pair made more than seven months earlier, when they released the Kindle digital edition of the book online on November 19, 2025. That release date was carefully chosen to align with the fourth anniversary of the controversial COVID-19 vaccine mandate rolled out in 2021 by the then-ruling Unity Labour Party administration, with the authors committing from the start to host a formal public launch in 2026.
During the well-attended launch event, themed “Be a Part of the Conversation,” the Ballantynes walked attendees through the multi-year process of researching and writing the book, explaining what drove them to take on the project. The core of their work centers on collecting and sharing firsthand accounts from Vincentians who were directly penalized for refusing to comply with the 2021 mandate, which resulted in hundreds of public sector workers losing their jobs.
The authors described the profound emotional weight of interviewing dozens of affected people who agreed to share their experiences for the book. “To hear how families’ lives had been disrupted, parents separated from their children to sustain their household, children’s university studies cut short, people forced to give up their homes or leave them in a state of disrepair, teachers reduced to selling snacks or provisions on the street just to make ends meet, was heartbreaking,” they shared.
They added that even more devastating were the accounts from families who lost loved ones or saw loved ones suffer permanent health damage they attribute to the COVID-19 vaccine. “Worse still were the stories of those who were injured or died from the jab, leaving children behind and their families in grief and hardship,” they said. The authors also criticized the former government’s response to the hardship, saying: “In the face of all that suffering, we had a callous government, with a prime minister rubbing salt in our wounds by justifying the mandate even after evidence was available that the jab was unsafe and ineffective, and who was still insisting that workers had abandoned their jobs.”
The launch featured special guest addresses from several prominent local figures, including SVG Teachers’ Union President Fiona Charles-Williams, immediate past union president Oswald Robinson, and Anesia Baptiste, Associate Director of the Thusian Institute for Religious Liberty Inc. Baptiste used her remarks to share new details drawn from recent revelations in Dr. Anthony Fauci’s recently released private diary, noting that the new disclosures further reinforce the authors’ opposition to the vaccine mandate and the vaccine itself. Baptiste emphasized that the book fills a critical gap, saying it serves three key purposes: “record, history and inspiration.”
Following the formal remarks, attendees joined in an open, candid discussion where many shared their own personal experiences under the 2021 mandate. Common stories included being locked out of workplaces indefinitely and feeling coerced into taking the vaccine to avoid losing income required to pay home mortgages.
One high-profile attendee was newly appointed acting Assistant Commissioner of Police Brenton Smith, who himself was among the hundreds of public sector workers dismissed for refusing the vaccine. In a Facebook post after the event, Smith shared that the evening was a deeply moving experience that stirred long-buried painful memories. “The evening was well attended, but for me, it was much more than a book launch. As the authors gave their historical account and reflected on the experiences surrounding the COVID-19 vaccine mandate, many painful memories came flooding back,” Smith wrote. “There were moments when I felt I needed to step outside simply to compose myself, yet I did not want to miss a single word. I was reminded of the insults, humiliation, uncertainty and hardship that many persons endured, including members of my own organisation.”
Smith echoed the authors’ assessment of the mandate’s far-reaching harm, adding: “People were placed in extremely difficult circumstances because of their decision not to comply with the vaccine mandate. Families were affected, livelihoods were disrupted, careers were interrupted, and relationships within workplaces were deeply strained.” He extended his congratulations to the Ballantynes for completing and launching the work.
As an interactive event designed to center survivor voices, the launch closed with the authors encouraging attendees to continue sharing their stories and keep the conversation about the mandate’s legacy going in communities across Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.