BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - HEALTH officials have confirmed receipt of the correspondence from the COVAX personnel that St. Kitts and Nevis would be receiving more than 21,000 doses of the COVID-19 Vaccine.
The Pan American Health Organisation confirmed over the weekend that St. Kitts and Nevis was among 37 countries coming under the COVAX agreement that would be receiving doses of AstraZeneca Vaccine in the second half of this month.
While providing an update on the announcement last evening (Feb. 3), Chief Medical Officer Dr. Hazel Laws disclosed that under the agreement’s first phase, St. Kitts and Nevis would be receiving 21,600 doses of the vaccine.
“Providing information regarding the first tranche of the assigned COVID-19 vaccine to satisfy COVAX’s agreement with the Federation, we were informed that St. Kitts and Nevis can expect to be distributed an indicative number of doses of the AstraZeneca-Oxford University vaccine,” Dr. Laws explained.
She added that the 21,600 doses of the vaccine represent about 20 percent of the population in St. Kitts and Nevis, which is in keeping with the announcement that the facility would provide for that amount of the population in the first instance.
“The start date of delivery is as early as mid to late February. However, this is subject to the WHO listing approval process and completion of the next steps. The next steps include things like implementation of our vaccination deployment plan and regulatory preparedness,” the CMO revealed.
St. Kitts and Nevis, like many other territories in the region, is without medical oversight of vaccines and is dependent on the World Health Organisation to provide the proper approvals for same.
In that regard, she announced that this week the WHO is expected to approve the Astrazeneca-Oxford Vaccines for use by those territories.
Officials in several territories in the region have already begun inoculating residents, including the British Overseas islands.
With the vaccine expected this month and the rolled expected sometime in March, who will be in that bracket to be vaccinated?
That was a question the CMO responded to last evening during her presence on the Leadership Matters programme, where she insisted that there is a National Vaccine Deployment and Implementation Plan that would guide the way forward for distribution.
“So, the thinking is that it is going to be like all other vaccinations; it is not mandatory but we are going to provide the public with all of the information and for individuals to make an informed decision in terms of taking the vaccine.
“I want us to realise that the demand for the vaccine far exceeds the supply and so we are going to be getting our vaccines in tranches, and so we will have to prioritise in the initial phase. And, so our National Vaccine Deployment and Implementation Plan will clearly stipulate who will be prioritised first,” explained the CMO.
Medical Chief of Staff, Dr. Cameron Wilkinson suggested that taking the World Health Organisation’s recommendations into consideration, it would be the frontline workers; those people who are in nursing homes and those who are more likely to succumb easily to the virus.
