Minister of Health Frank Anthony has challenged Leader of the Opposition Joseph Harmon to either provide evidence that the Sputnik V vaccine being used in Guyana is fake or withdraw his call for the suspension of its use and apologise to the public.
“You intentionally encouraged citizens to not take the vaccine and therefore put their lives at risk. You publicly demanded the suspension of vaccination with Sputnik V and therefore further put people’s lives in jeopardy. I urge you to present evidence that the vaccines are fake and if you cannot then you should withdraw your statement and publicly apologize to the Guyanese People,” Anthony wrote in a letter to Harmon.
The letter, dated June 19, is a response to Harmon’s request for information on the vaccines and their procurement. Anthony stated that he had already responded to an exhaustive set of questions in the National Assembly last Monday.
“I patiently answered all questions, especially those related to the source of Sputnik V procured, the quantity procured, the arrival of the vaccines and the shipment arrangements, including temperature monitoring,” he wrote, before adding that the government had also held a briefing session with all political parties on April 26th and opposition representatives had the opportunity to ask several questions and were provided with all the answers.
Harmon’s letter, which was sent to the Minister on Friday, asked for the provision of information which includes the quantities and batch numbers of the Russian made vaccines that were procured through the United Arab Emirates. He noted that shipping information along with conditions under which vaccines were stored during shipment should also be disclosed.
“You would agree that it is important that Guyanese be assured that their health and safety are not being jeopardised,” Harmon said in the correspondence, while also asking that the procurement process and other related information be provided. He has said that until the government could credibly assure the authenticity of the vaccines, their use should be suspended.
Anthony did not provide this requested data and instead he indicated that Guyana has not imported any vaccine without the requisite registration and approval for emergency use by the Government Analyst Food and Drug Department.
Government has stated that following a failure to secure Sputnik V from the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), the country was advised by RDIF that Dubai’s Sheik Ahmed Dalmook Al-Maktoum was a reliable supplier.
Al-Maktoum has since been paid US$957,000 for 200,000 doses of Sputnik V. Further there is the intention to procure an additional 58,000 Sputnik V vaccines from Al-Maktoum at a cost of US$275,964,000.
Harmon has noted that the purchase price of the vaccine is more than double the US$10 at which the RDIF is selling the product but Anthony has repeatedly stressed that the sum is still cheaper than the cost of treating those hospitalised with COVID-19.
“We will continue to vaccinate people with vaccines we have available to us at this time. These vaccines include AstraZeneca, Sputnik V and SinoPharm,” he said in yesterday’s letter, before adding that as of June 18 a total of 227,070 persons have received the first doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 98,076 persons are fully vaccinated.
More than 59,000 of the fully vaccinated persons are vaccinated with Sputnik V, he added.
Harmon’s suggestion earned rebuke from President Irfaan Ali, who has accused him of recklessness given the potential to foster vaccine hesitancy at a time when the government is seeking to attain herd immunity.
Both Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana and the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union also criticized Harmon. The former called his statements reckless, irresponsible, and thoughtless, while the latter said he adopted a most flippant approach, questioning the veracity of the Sputnik vaccine, which he reportedly received.
However, Harmon has found support from the Trades Union Congress, which on Saturday similarly called for the suspension of the use of Sputnik V until it is approved by the World Health Organization.
