Jamaica to get COVID-19 vaccines this month

Jamaica Information Service – Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, says the Government has been advised by the COVAX Facility that the country is set to receive between 146,400 and 249,600 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccines, by mid to late February 2021.

Speaking in the House of Representatives on Tuesday (February 2), Dr. Tufton said this means that some 125,000 Jamaicans could receive vaccines by the end of February into March.

Among those to receive the vaccines are front-line workers, including nurses and doctors, and then vulnerable persons; chief among those are persons 60 years and older.

“The availability of this vaccine is, of course, subject to the World Health Organization (WHO) Emergency Use Listing and the indicative amount is based on the current communication from the manufacturers, Serum Institute of India and SK Bioscience,” Dr. Tufton said.

He further stated that if additional supplies under the COVAX arrangement are received, the Ministry will be able to vaccinate some 450,000 Jamaicans by the end of the year.

“I must hasten to caution that it is likely that the allocation could be adjusted upward or downward depending on the present global circumstances and any anticipated challenges that the Facility may encounter, which most likely would be issues around manufacturing,” Dr. Tufton said.

“But, to date, so far so good [as the] commitments have remained true and this latest correspondence that we have received is an indication of confidence in the process to deliver on the commitments that we have signed on to,” he added.

Dr. Tufton noted that there are several steps that must be taken, as Jamaica prepares to receive its first shipment of COVID-19 vaccines.

Among them, he said, is having the necessary indemnity and liability frameworks in place, in order to complete the agreement directly with AstraZeneca, as well as finalising other procurement matters with the COVAX Facility’s management.