Kingston – Jamaica on Monday received 14 400 doses of coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines through the COVAX Facility, becoming the first country in the Caribbean to get their allocation of the vaccine from the global effort of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), the Vaccine Alliance Gavi, UNICEF, the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO).
PAHO’s Revolving Fund, which is responsible for the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines for the countries of the Americas under the COVAX Facility, sent 14 400 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, manufactured by SK Bioscience of South Korea.
“Seeing this arrival is very reassuring and it means that more people will be able to be protected from COVID-19,” said Dr Bernadette Theodore-Gandi, PAHO/WHO Representative in Jamaica.
“We will continue to work with the country to support vaccination along with the entire package of known public health and social measures that we know can help stop the spread of COVID-19, protect health services, and save lives,” she added.
The arrival of these first vaccines will serve to protect priority groups and those most at risk, such as health workers and older adults.
“We are pleased that Jamaica is the first country in the Caribbean to receive vaccines under the COVAX Facility. Vaccination has proven an undeniable success in the public health toolkit to reduce the burden of infectious disease, and vaccines under the COVAX facility represent a key part of our response to this global pandemic. The amount received will be used to inoculate our healthcare workers and other frontline workers, who have been at the core of our COVID-19 response,” noted Dr Christopher Tufton, Minister of Health and Wellness of Jamaica.
Monday’s delivery was part of the first phase of deliveries for Jamaica, and more vaccines are expected to arrive throughout the year. The island is expected to continue receiving doses through May until it reaches 124 800, the amount specified by COVAX.
Since the first case of COVID-19 was reported here, the country has recorded 31 305 confirmed cases and 492 deaths as a result of the virus, according to official data from the country.
“Every dose arriving in Jamaica brings the promise of protection for more families from COVID-19 infection. Over time, this will bring the pandemic to an end and reduce its harmful secondary impacts on children. They can return to school, access critical services and reduce their vulnerability to violence,” said Mariko Kagoshima, UNICEF representative in the country.
Fifteen Caribbean countries will receive just over 2.1 million doses of COVAX vaccines by May. The others are: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Surinam, and Trinidad and Tobago. Six of these countries – Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, St Lucia, and St Vincent & the Grenadines – will receive the vaccines free.
COVAX seeks to provide vaccines for at least 20 per cent of the population of each participating country during 2021.
In this first round of vaccine allocation, all COVAX participating countries will receive doses to vaccinate between 2.2 and 2.6 per cent of their population. The only exceptions are small island developing states, which will receive an allocation of vaccines to cover between 16 and 20 per cent of their population, due to the high logistical cost of delivering small quantities of vaccines. (CMC)
