213 adolescents receive Pfizer jab so far – Min. Anthony
– special vaccination drive set for Sunday
Some 213 adolescents have already received the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approved Pfizer vaccine, which began rolling out on Thursday at the St. Stanislaus College.
Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony, MP, during Friday’s COVID-19 Update said he is pleased with the turnout as vaccination is the only way to protect children against the deadly COVID-19.
“A lot of people are interested in getting their children vaccinated so that they can go back to school. We were extremely pleased by that type of response. And I think we are going to continue to see that type of response as we move the vaccination programme around the country.”
Dr. Anthony believes vaccine hesitancy is driven by misinformation.
“I think if we all can come together, and make sure that people are provided with the right information, then we’ll be assisting those persons to make proper decisions and to get vaccinated.
“I don’t think any one of us would like to see persons who could have been prevented from getting the infection, get the infection and die from that infection. So, we all have to act very responsibly around this time and it’s important that we do so,” Dr. Anthony said.
Meanwhile, the Ministries of Health and Education will be launching a “special vaccination drive” for adolescents on Sunday.
Dr. Anthony said it is important for children to be vaccinated since they will be safer when returning to school in September.
“We’ll be doing a special vaccination drive, which would be at Movie Towne, we want to start from about 8:30 in the morning and go at least until three. This one is a special one for persons between the ages of just under 18 and up to 12 and so anybody that meet that age criteria can come and get vaccinated.”
Dr. Anthony said the vaccination drive will commence in Region Four before being rolled out in other regions. He noted that the Pfizer vaccine will only be used for children, as the adult population has several other vaccines to choose from.
The Minister informed that the side effects of the vaccine will not be long-term, however if they continue, persons should make contact with the hotline for additional advice.
“When you get a vaccine at that site where you got the injection, you can feel a bit of pain, there can be a little bit of soreness, redness, some people will get muscle pain, some people will get a little bit of fever, but a lot of these things would go away after a 24-hour period.”
Adolescents going to take the vaccine are asked to have with them the ‘consent form’, signed by their parents or be accompanied by their parents and have the forms signed at the vaccination site.