Dear Editor,
The Covid-19 pandemic has afflicted 100 million and killed over two million. Guyana has thousands of infections and 200 Covid related deaths, low in terms of the overall global numbers of casualties but relatively high for a small developing nation where social distancing is not a major challenge as in overcrowded territories.
The numbers in Guyana signal the need for vaccination of the population to prevent further spread of the disease, or, to create a herd immunity putting an end to the virus. It appears that the disease is under control globally with declining rates of infections and deaths except for a few locations. There has been a global effort to slow the pace of infection but not a global effort to vaccinate the world. Vaccinations against the virus appears to be working and some countries are advanced in their vaccination program. But vaccination is a global problem – too many countries chasing after too few vaccines. Manufacturers can’t keep pace and poor countries lack the capacity to develop or manufacture the vaccine.
Wealthy countries that can afford to pay for vaccines have not been very supportive; India is one of a few countries that are rising to the challenge of supplying the world with vaccine to combat the spread of the disease. It is vaccinating its own population with front line workers getting the first jab. By August, India hopes to supply the world with over 500M doses, and, unlike the Russian or Chinese vaccines, the Indian vaccine is very inexpensive compared with the UK, European or American vaccine.
Some Caricom countries appealed to PM Modi directly when the vaccines were rolled out. Those Caricom countries were rewarded with vaccines in record time. Barbados and Dominica got separate consignments based on their direct request to PM Modi. Our government should continue to plea for Indian vaccines as Guyana will not get vaccines from America or the West. Guyanese I spoke with say they will wait for the Indian or Western vaccine. We have strong cultural and diplomatic relations with India to be given preference for vaccines.
Yours truly,
Dr. Vishnu Bisram
