Guyana will have to pay for the COVID-19 vaccines that it may receive from an arrangement between CARICOM and the African Union, Minister of Health Dr. Frank Anthony has explained.
Speaking during his daily COVID-19 update on Friday, Anthony clarified that the vaccines through the pact would not be free. “These vaccines are not going to be free, they are vaccines that the country would have to pay for and right now we have indicated our interest in receiving vaccines through this mechanism,” he said.
On Thursday Anthony had told the National Assembly that Guyana could receive approximately 149,000 doses of approved COVID-19 vaccines through the CARICOM-African Union arrangement.
Speaking on Friday, Anthony said that details of the arrangement between CARICOM and the African Union, under which the regional body would be allocated 1.5 million doses of vaccines, are currently being worked out.
He added that the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) had possibly provided CARICOM with data based on the population of the different countries in the region, which would inform the allocation made to Guyana.
Meanwhile when asked about the possible vaccines that Guyana could receive through this mechanism, he noted that he believes that the Union may have access to the mRNA vaccines, which means that they would possibly be able to allocate vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna and even AstraZeneca.
Guyana is expected to receive around 104,000 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine under the World Health Organization-led COVAX facility. With two doses per person this would cover 52,000 persons.
China has also announced a donation of 20,000 of its vaccines, which would cover another 10,000 persons.
