Grenada to get 6,000 doses of donated AstraZeneca Vaccine

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - FOLLOWING last evening's (Feb. 9) announcement that Dominica, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana would be donating doses of the AstraZeneca Vaccine to member states of the region, Grenada has informed that it would be receiving 6,000 doses.
 
That confirmation came this morning during a Post Cabinet press briefing, where it was disclosed that the 6,000 doses would inoculate 3,000 people when they arrive on the island.
 
Speaking to the donation, Grenada’s Minister of Health Nickolas Steele explained that Dominica’s Prime Minister was nominated as the Head of the OECS along with Barbados’ Prime Minister to approach the Indian Government to discuss the possibilities of accessing the vaccines on behalf of the sub-region.
 
He told reporters that it was out of those discussions that the vaccines were supplied to the region last evening.
 
According to Steele, it has been extremely difficult for governments of the region to get their hands on COVID-19 vaccines in a timely manner, as manufacturers have made several promises with the timelines beginning later in the year.
 
The Minister pointed to the last half of the year as the exact period when the manufacturers could supply the Caribbean, which the governments found “unacceptable”.
 
“So, we have been working collectively, as there is strength in numbers, to get the required amount in an acceptable timeframe; and our acceptable timeframe has always been within the first quarter of 2021. And collectively we have been able to thus far,” Steel noted.
 
However, there was good news recently for the region when governments of the various member states that subscribed to the COVAX facility were informed that they would be receiving doses for 20 percent of their populations.
 
In the case of St. Kitts and Nevis, local health officials confirmed that under the first tranche of the COVAX arrangement, the Federation would be provided with 21,600 doses. 
 
Efforts to get a comment on the matter from local health officials were futile up to publication time.