Saying that there has been a lag in the uptake of the second dose of COVID-19 vaccines, Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony on Thursday urged persons to complete their vaccination regime in order to better protect themselves.
During his COVID-19 update, Anthony disclosed that as of Wednesday, 327, 519 adults in Guyana had received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while only 171,094 persons have received a second dose. The figure for the recipients of first doses represents 63.8% of the Guyanese adult population, while the figure for the recipients of second doses represents 33.4%.
Anthony pointed out that while the number of persons who have received a first dose is significant, the same cannot be said for those that have received a second, especially considering that about 30,000 persons are now eligible to receive their second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
“So people take the first dose and are not coming back for their second dose…. If you only get one dose, it doesn’t fully protect you. Right now there are about 30,000 persons who are now eligible for the second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine so they are within the 4 to 12 weeks period and they need to get their second dose,” he said before urging persons to visit a site to get vaccinated with a second dose.
Anthony said that in some of the regions, staff are going through the list and are calling persons, reminding them that they are eligible for a second dose of a COVID-19. This process, however, he said, is very tedious and it will take a long time.
He went on to say that there are persons who got the Sinopharm first dose who are also eligible for a second dose and once again urged those persons to get their second dose. The minister noted that the only second dose vaccine that they have a shortage with is the Sputnik V, adding that when this becomes available, the ministry will announce it to the public.
Meanwhile, as it relates to the national adolescents vaccination campaign, Anthony said 16,768 children were vaccinated, accounting for approximately 23% of children between the ages of 12 and 18 eligible to receive a first dose of the Pfizer vaccine. He disclosed that while the campaign has been rolled out throughout most of the country, there were some issues in regions Seven and Eight as they haven’t been able to train health teams in these areas to independently administer the vaccine.
He added that they were working on vaccinating 72,000 adolescents within the 12 to 18 age range, including those who are no longer in school.
