Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony on Friday said that the government is hoping to receive supplies needed to resume the administering of Sputnik V second doses by next week following a shipment delay.
A day after the ministry announced that no Sputnik V second doses were available, Anthony sought to assuage the concerns of those awaiting their second jabs, which they were told should be administered within four weeks.
During his COVID-19 update, he said Russian authorities have since written and advised that the second doses can be administered within a four to 12-week interval after the first dose.
“While we are delayed, everyone who has received their first dose Sputnik would get their second dose. It wouldn’t happen, perhaps, in the fourth week interval, but certainly you will get it a little bit after,” Anthony said.
He did not state the quantities expected in the next shipment, while noting that he would address the number next week.
As of Friday morning, Anthony reported that 194,749 persons, accounting for 40% of the adult population, had received their first dose of a vaccine, while 65,534 persons, 13.5%, have received their second dose.
Guyana has been utilizing Sputnik V, AstraZeneca and Sinopharm vaccines.
While all three vaccines are administered in two staggered doses, Sputnik V’s two doses are different from each other.
Anthony yesterday assured that the vaccination programme is continuing with the administration of the first dose of Sputnik V, as well as second doses of the AstraZeneca and Sinopharm vaccines. On the latter two, he said that from the supplies that were acquired, second doses were set aside for everyone who received a first dose.
Anthony added that authorities had been advised to delay the administration of second doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine — between eight to 12 weeks — as it would result in increased efficacy. However, he said some of those who received their first doses ended up visiting various vaccine sites for their second doses ahead of schedule, resulting in the staff working with the extended interval turning them away. “We have since changed that and persons can come and get second doses,” he added.
He also said the ministry is also expecting its next shipment of AstraZeneca vaccines from the COVAX facility by the second week of June. Added to that, he mentioned that an initial payment has also been made for 149,000 vaccines that are being acquired through the African Union/CARICOM agreement and it is awaiting shipment dates.
Meanwhile, Anthony noted that there continues to be a lag in vaccine uptake in some regions, with Region 10 remaining one of the challenging areas. He said there had been 11.6% of the adult population in the region who have received their first dose of a vaccine. He said there had been a marginal increase in uptake but a lot of work needs to be done to dispel myths about the vaccines.
