“Get vaccinated to reap your benefits” – PM tells Region Two
Prime Minister, Brigadier (Ret’d), Mark Phillips, MP, at the weekend encouraged residents of Region Two, to ensure both themselves and children are protected against COVID-19 by getting vaccinated.
The Prime Minister, who is also chairman of the National COVID-19 Taskforce, said it is imperative for everyone to be inoculated to achieve herd immunity. He said this will allow the country to return to some form of normalcy.
“I need to impress upon you that if you have not taken the vaccine as yet kindly take the vaccine because we need our people to survive covid, to be alive and to continue to work towards development in Guyana and also to be alive to reap the benefits from your hard work.”
Since assuming office in August 2020, the PPP/C Government has implemented several measures to buffer the effects of the Covid pandemic, including the delivery of financial relief to citizens. The Prime Minister assured that each citizen will benefit from all the Government’s programmes and policies which are aimed at mitigating the effect of the pandemic.
The Government has rolled out a comprehensive COVID-19 immunisation campaign for adults, as well as adolescents ages of 12 to 17.
PM Phillips said he recognises “that we have some challenges there but it is the best that we can do because our children being home for about seventeen months…. the general feeling is that the best way to educate our children is by face-to-face interaction in a school system. We have some challenges there, we have to live with Covid, we have to put protocols in place, all of the measures in schools.”
In addition to highlighting the government’s many programmes, plans and policies aimed at developing Guyana, he reminded residents about the country’s economic potential through its oil and gas sector, among others.
“Guyana is not only about land and agriculture; we have a lot of resources…the revenues from oil will also be used to improve the livelihood of all of the people of Guyana. There is no discrimination, as we are a government for the people of Guyana,” the PM said.
Prime Minister Philips met with residents across the Essequibo Coast where he listened to their concerns.
The Health Ministry has reported that 173,989 or 33.9 per cent of the adult population has been fully vaccinated, while 334,333 or 65 per cent of the population has received the first dose of the vaccine.
So far, 18,299 or 25.1 per cent of adolescents have received their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine.