Minister of Health Dr. Frank Anthony on Monday said that Guyana is expected to receive more COVID-19 vaccines within the coming week.
During his daily COVID-19 update, he said the government is wrapping up several bi-lateral negotiations for vaccines and expects to receive additional vaccines from “multiple sources.”
Dr. Anthony said Guyana will definitely receive vaccines through the COVAX facility with the World Health Organization (WHO) approving the AstraZeneca vaccine.
“We are in conversations with other countries and those discussions are getting close to the end. Once concluded, we will see vaccines coming out,” he added.
Guyana will procure some 104,000 vaccines through the COVAX facility; it has also received a pledge of 22,000 vaccine does from China and another 149,000 through the CARICOM/ African Union agreement.
On February 10, 2021, Barbados donated 3000 doses of its Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines to Guyana.
Dr. Anthony said the country has not exhausted that donation with just about 1852 frontline workers vaccinated to date.
The vaccine should be for some 1, 500 persons with two doses per individual.
The Health Minister said his team intends to go ahead and vaccine 3000 health care workers and await the follow up vaccines from which the second dose will be administered.
He said frontline workers in all regions except Regions Eight and Nine have been vaccinated; mostly those working in direct contact with COVID-19 patients.