The Government of Guyana (GoG) has begun upgrading its health infrastructure and human capacity to administer COVID-19 vaccines when they become available, Health Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony said during today’s COVID-19 update.
“We are working to ensure that Guyana would get a vaccine soon. As you know, we’ve established a National Task Force dealing with vaccines. We’ve started our preparedness for vaccines in terms of the documentation that is necessary. We have prepared what is called a ‘National Vaccine Preparedness Plan’ and that is the roadmap that we are using to rollout vaccines…In terms of our readiness, we have to look at our existing vaccination centres and upgrade them,” he said.
The Minister reminded that monies were passed in the National Assembly last year to achieve these upgrades, and that the ministry has already begun the expansion of some of the existing vaccination centres.
In addition to expanding the physical space, the Minister said that there is a need for new refrigerators and generators to ensure than vaccines are stored properly.
He noted that the procurement of these equipment is at an advanced stage, with some already en route to Guyana.
“So, once we get those freezers and refrigerators, we’ll start installing them. We’re hoping that we’ll be at a better state of readiness by the end of the month, once we get all the pieces coming together,” he said.
The Health Minister noted, too, that personnel are undergoing training to administer the different types of vaccines that Guyana is expected to receive.
“A lot of these people have experience with rolling out vaccines, and so, we’re taking staff that would have worked with vaccination programmes before – both at the National and at the Regional level – and training them more specifically with the types of COVID vaccines that we’re expecting. Each type of the vaccine will have different requirements: how you put them together; what to look for in terms of side effects; how they are stored; [and] how long people will have to wait after you administer the vaccine. So, all these things we’re training our staff to do,” he reported.
