The United States Government has donated 5.5 million Pfizer vaccines to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), of which 1.5 million doses have been allocated to Haiti, with the other 4 million earmarked for distribution among 14 CARICOM countries.
According to a press release from the CARICOM Secretariat, the initiative was the culmination of efforts from Chair of CARICOM and Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago Dr Keith Rowley, who earlier this year wrote US President Joe Biden, requesting a supply of vaccines for the Community.
The release said that the donation from the White House also includes three million ancillary kits containing needles, syringes, diluent and other supplies.
The release stated that CARICOM Secretary General Irwin LaRocque “expressed his appreciation to President Biden for his generosity and to his team at the White House for their commitment to delivering the vaccines.”
“This end result is due to the hard work put in by the White House staff, the staff of Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), the staff of the Secretariat and the team at Pfizer,” LaRocque was quoted as saying.
“These vaccines would contribute significantly to the Region’s ability to control this pandemic and place the Caribbean on a path to economic recovery. Importantly it would also allow for schools to be re-opened given that the Pfizer vaccine has been approved for emergency use for children 12 years and over,” he added.
Meanwhile, CARPHA Executive Director, Dr Joy St. John has assured that, “as the public health agency leading the regional COVID-19 response, we have worked with member states to ensure that they are ready to accept the vaccines, especially as it relates to regulatory approval, coordination, planning and delivery, logistics, shipment receipt and procedures.”
St. John added, “CARPHA was pleased to collaborate with the Pan American Health Organization [PAHO], as they facilitated specialized training on vaccine systems, while we facilitated the special ultra-cold chain training, which Pfizer delivered to the countries receiving the vaccine donation.”
The Executive Director confirmed that three million ancillary kits have already been delivered with the support of Caribbean Airlines and the CARICOM Regional Security System (RSS), while another tranche of one million ancillary kits will be delivered directly by Pfizer along with vaccine shipments.
The vaccine donation follows months of discussions between the US Department of Health and Human Services, Pfizer, the CARPHA and the CARICOM Secretariat.
At the beginning of those discussions, the total number of persons vaccinated in CARICOM countries stood at a meagre 515,000, which emphasises the importance of the donation by the US Government, the release added.
