With two COVID-19 vaccination sites functioning in Georgetown, hundreds of persons came forward yesterday to be inoculated, with one simply saying “I just want to be safe,” and after receiving their doses at State House, President Irfaan Ali and First Lady Arya Ali have urged all those eligible to come forward and take their shots.
On Thursday, some 1,330 persons across the country received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Ministry of Health. The current vaccination drive is for persons 60 years and older. Frontline health care workers have also been vaccinated.
To cater for the large number of persons residing in the city, two vaccination sites have been established at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) and the Ministry of Health (MoH), with several more sites yet to be identified.
In a statement, President Ali said, “While it is not mandatory I want to encourage you to consider taking the vaccine. I’m sure that it will help us as we all work together [to] get ahead of this pandemic. I want to assure Guyanese that we will spare no resources in having every single Guyanese vaccinated at the end of the year.”
He added that the
government is continuing to directly engage with suppliers of the Sputnik V, Sinopharm, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines, while noting that there is a global shortage of COVID-19 shots.
After receiving her vaccine, the First Lady expressed her gratitude to the scientists, researchers and health care workers who made the vaccination possible and also urged persons to get vaccinated.
“The vaccine reduces transmission, deaths and hospitalisations. The vaccine saves lives and reduces the burdens on our health care systems. Do remember, however, that we are still in the pandemic. As such, we must continue to wear masks and maintain social distancing until we reach herd immunity. The end is near and we cannot let our guard down prematurely,” she said.
Vaccination of persons 60 and older continued across the country yesterday, with dozens turning out at the two new sites located at the MoH on Brickdam and at the GPH. Persons desirous of getting vaccinated can visit these sites from Monday to Friday between 8 am and 4 pm.
When Stabroek News visited the site at MoH, at least 30 persons were waiting to be vaccinated. Shortly after receiving his vaccine, Juarace De Moraes told Stabroek News that he felt that it was necessary to get vaccinated as he was anxious for the world to exit the pandemic so that life can continue without the restrictions that are currently in place.
Like the President and the First Lady, he is also encouraging persons to get vaccinated.
‘I just want to be safe’
Patricia Habibullah, 71, stated that she decided to take the vaccine because she does not want to end up in the hospital and on a ventilator and also for the freedom in her way of living that the vaccine promises. Additionally, she stated she does not want to be a carrier of the virus and transmit COVID-19 to other people.
Further, she said that once she gets her second dose of the vaccine, she will be able to travel. “This little pad [immunization booklet] here is a second passport now. To do anything in the world you need this,” she said.
Habibullah said that she was treated excellently by the staff and the doctors were very informative about the vaccine.
Another person, Doreen (only name given), said that she has lost friends to the disease and for her, the vaccine represents hope for longer life and an exit from the pandemic. “I decided to get vaccinated because I want to be safe and because I want life return to normal,” she said, noting that since the lockdown began it was and still is very difficult for her to adjust to all the restrictions.
At the GPH, some 61 persons had been vaccinated when Stabroek News arrived at the vaccination site.
Stabroek News was told that vaccinations at the site began on Thursday and while persons turned up in numbers to be vaccinated, many did not fit the 60 years and older category.
A total of 44 persons were vaccinated at that site on Thursday. The numbers also included several frontline and healthcare workers.
One of the persons who was vaccinated told Stabroek News that he took the shot because he is hopeful that this will help bring an end to the pandemic. “Life is hard because we don’t get to see our family as often as we would like,” he said, while noting that his relatives take his health very seriously, so visits have been minimal. He says that now that he is vaccinated he hopes that life can return to some sort of normalcy and he can once again enjoy the company of his family.
Another, said that she has seen what the virus has caused and does not wish to be part of its long list of victims. “I just want to be safe,” she said.
All persons over the age of 60 are being vaccinated with the Oxford AstraZeneca Covishield vaccine while persons under the age of 60 are being vaccinated with the Sinopharm vaccine. Immunization against COVID-19 began in February with a donation of 3,000 doses from Barbados.
At the start of the week Guyana had a total of 100,000 doses of the vaccine on hand, comprising a donation of 80,000 from India and another donation of 20,000 from China. Each individual requires two shots which means that the vaccines will cater for 50,000 persons.
