(Trinidad Express) – From this week elderly and immunocompromised people in Trinidad and Tobago who have already been vaccinated against Covid-19 would be able to access an additional dose of the vaccine to further protect them against the virus.
Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh made this announcement yesterday as he noted World Health Organisation (WHO) interim guidelines.
However, Deyalsingh said this should not be referred to as a “booster shot” but, rather, an additional primary dose.
Speaking during the ministry’s virtual news conference, Deyalsingh said the additional doses will be available from tomorrow to be administered to eligible people.
These people would have already received two doses of the Sinopharm, AstraZeneca or Pfizer vaccines, or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and were deemed to be fully vaccinated.
For the Sinopharm vaccine, Deyalsingh said elderly people from age 60 as well as immunocompromised people would be able to access a third dose.
Immunocompromised people consist of those with health ailments including cancer, HIV/AIDS, transplant recipients, those who are immunodeficient and those on immunosuppressive therapy.
“If you fall into any one of the five categories, as determined by your physician with a referral letter… you can access your third shot,” Deyalsingh advised.
He said this also applies to the AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.
However, a third Pfizer dose will be given to those aged 12 and over if the person is immunocompromised.
Pregnant women who are immunocompromised can also receive a third Pfizer dose. The timeframe to receive an additional primary dose is between three and six months after the last dose was received or “as soon as humanly possible”, Deyalsingh stated.
“The standard practice as outlined by WHO in the interim guidelines is for as far as humanly possible is… if you got Sinopharm, you take Sinopharm as your additional primary dose. If you are a recipient of a Pfizer vaccine for those 12 and over, you will be eligible if you are moderately to severely immunocompromised for your third Pfizer shot. If you are a Johnson & Johnson recipient over the age of 18, you will get your second additional primary shot for Johnson & Johnson.”
Questioned on the mixing of vaccines, Chief Medical Officer Dr Roshan Parasram said recipients of the AstraZeneca vaccine can be given the Pfizer vaccine as their third dose, as this mix has been approved by the WHO.
However, this will only be done if there is a shortage of AstraZeneca shots.
Parasram said, for now, AstraZeneca recipients will receive an AstraZeneca third dose.
He noted enough Pfizer vaccines have to be held back to ensure those who received their first dose can get their second shot.
To access the additional shot, Deyalsingh said most eligible people would be in the public healthcare system and would be given the shot at their clinics.
“Don’t appear at the site from Monday. You will be called. We have the database of your name, your numbers, your ages. We are going to make it convenient for you. We don’t want you to be waiting there a long time,” he said
Deyalsingh said around 20,000 people who are immunocompromised are eligible for the additional dose.