Preparatory steps are underway to ensure Guyana is ready for a COVID-19 vaccine and authorities are looking at giving older persons and those with co-morbidities priority when vaccines for the virus arrive in the country.
The Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony made these disclosures during a COVID-19 update yesterday where he restated that the country is looking to acquire vaccines for COVID-19 through COVAX. Health workers will be the first to receive the vaccine and authorities are leaning towards having elderly persons and persons with co-morbidities be second in line.
COVAX is a component of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, which was launched in April by the World Health Organization (WHO), the European Commission, and France, in response to the pandemic. It seeks to ensure that people in all corners of the world get access to COVID-19 vaccines once they are available, regardless of their wealth.
Previously the minister had said that Guyana will be receiving in total, vaccines equivalent to 20% of its population, however the country will receive an initial 3% then 17% afterwards.
“They [COVAX] are asking countries to prioritize that 3% goes to frontline workers which would include the healthcare workers and perhaps other persons who are engaging the public and the other 17% it is yet to be determined, but in our context we are leaning towards having the elderly and persons who have comorbidities because these are the persons more at risk,” the minister explained.
With that he noted that the ministry has made some progress and has been completing the documentation required by COVAX. Further he noted that they have also been working on the ground as it relates to improving and expanding cold storage and even looking at vaccination sites. Dr. Anthony indicated, “In some cases we have to add new storage rooms and things like that, we have also started acquiring the types of freezers that we would need for the vaccine.”
Anthony mentioned that they have been in the process of procurement as well as looking at training health care staff that will be administering the vaccines. Preparatory work he noted has begun for that as they are currently developing the manuals for the training of those staff. “Within a couple of weeks we will be able to bring in people and start doing these training and so forth,” he added.
The minister noted, “So while we wait on COVAX acquiring these vaccines for us, we are also preparing internally and making sure that we are ready so whenever a vaccine is available and we get that vaccine we can quickly roll it out.”
