83,000 doses of Sputnik V vaccine arrived

Guyana has received another 83,000 doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine Monday morning, pushing the total vaccines received to date over 260,000 doses.

During his COVID-19 update, Minister of Health, Hon. Dr. Frank Anthony said 43,000 would be used as first doses while the remainder will be kept for second doses.

“Our plan has been and continues to be that we are securing vaccines for every single adult in Guyana so that there will be a vaccine for every single adult in Guyana. And while we secure the vaccine, it is still voluntary, so people can decide whether they want it or not.

Of course, we would prefer that people come forward and get their vaccine because this is what going to protect them from getting sick with Covid.” 

To this end, plans are being made to purchase more of the Sputnik V vaccine to boost the Government’s immunisation campaign. 

“Even with the supply that we have, there is still a gap, and we are making those arrangements to ensure that we have enough vaccines to cover our adult population,” he said. The Minister said the Government would continue to explore other avenues to secure more vaccines to stop the spread of the virus.

Today’s shipment was the third consignment from the 200,000 doses of the vaccine the Government purchased from Russia. The first shipment of 25,000 doses was received on April 2, followed by a batch of 30,000 doses. 

Earlier this year, the Government rolled out its COVID-19 immunisation campaign with frontline health workers and the elderly among the first to receive the shots. The campaign now targets the entire adult population.