Yesterday, the Government of Guyana received 146,250 doses of the Pfizer vaccines which will be administered to adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18. According to Health Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony, this is just the first batch to arrive, with more shipments expected in the coming months.
While the Minister did not reveal the total number of vaccines allocated to Guyana, he assured that the allotment will be sufficient for the entire young population (12-18 years old). He said that the Guyana Government is also awaiting the granting of Emergency Use Authorisation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to have the Pfizer vaccine administered to children younger than 12.
“Yesterday was big news because we received the first set of Pfizer’s vaccine here in Guyana, and that’s because of our bilateral relationship with the U.S. government. They had allocated about five million doses to CARICOM, of that we’re getting a percentage of those doses here in Guyana. We got the first batch yesterday, so we’re expecting in the coming months to receive other batches. So, with the allocation to Guyana, we’ll have enough Pfizer vaccines to cover our entire young population, that is, persons below the age of 18 and up to 12. And we’re anxiously awaiting the data from the FDA when they’ll approve between 11 and five [years old].”
Guyana will commence the rollout of the vaccines tomorrow in the capital, where a sensitization programme will be held.
“From tomorrow, we’ll start rolling out the programme. We’ll have an initial programme at the St. Stanislaus College tomorrow, where we’ll do – between the two ministries, Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education – a sensitization session, then we’ll do some vaccination for students, who would like to get vaccinated.”
Dr Anthony said that persons around the area that wish to get vaccinated can also visit the school.
During that programme, Dr Anthony said that the Ministry will announce the names of the places that will be administering the vaccines.
