Govt actively trying to secure more COVID-19 vaccines – VP Jagdeo
Vice President, Hon. Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo says the Government is making “enormous efforts” to secure more COVID-19 vaccines for Guyana’s adult population.
During an interview Friday with local commentator, Guyanese Critic the Vice President acknowledged that Guyana, like many other developing countries, have encountered difficulties in procuring vaccines.
“I want to assure Guyanese that we are taking all steps to get people vaccinated. We need to vaccinate 500,000 of our adult Guyanese. We can’t wait. Our people are just as important.”
The VP said developed countries like the United States of America, Canada and those in Europe had pre-purchased millions of doses of COVID-19 vaccines. Specifically, Canada purchased ten times more than its population. He said manufacturers must first satisfy those pre-ordered vaccines before moving to other countries.
“The United States has 20 million doses of AstraZeneca that they are not using because they have not had regulatory approval for AstraZeneca, but they will not release this to other countries.”
It is within this context that the VP revealed that Guyana is trying to secure more vaccines for its citizens.
He indicated that the Caribbean region, African nations and other developing countries went through the COVAX mechanism to secure vaccines. However, even this machinery has fallen short in procuring the vaccines.
Guyana had managed to secure 400,000 doses of the vaccine from the Middle East, Dr. Jagdeo noted. Only 140,000 of the first dose and 40,000 of the second dose were delivered. Currently, 60,000 first doses and 160,000 second doses are outstanding.
“We have had a hard time getting it transported to Guyana. The vaccines have to be stored at -19 degrees and therefore, a lot of the carriers don’t want to take the risk.
If the temperature rises above that then the vaccines would spoil. But we expect that the 160,000 second dose and the 40,000 first dose will come in time for us to vaccinate more people.”
Notwithstanding these challenges, Dr. Jagdeo said the Government has made “significant strides” in vaccinating citizens against the deadly disease. So far, 194,749 citizens have received their first dose. This accounts for 40 per cent of the adult population.
As of Thursday, 65,534 persons or 13.5 per cent of the adult population have been fully vaccinated. The VP pointed out that these percentages are favourable when compared to the developed countries.
Dr. Jagdeo revealed that the Government is currently in discussions with the makers of Sinopharm, and vaccine manufacturers in Europe to supply COVID-19 vaccines. The Vice President said the Government has already made a downpayment of US$36,000 to secure 150,000 single doses of the Johnson and Johnson Covid vaccine.