One month after Guyana commenced COVID-19 immunisation, President Irfaan Ali and his wife, First Lady, Mrs Arya Ali have received the jab.
The Head-of-State and his wife received their first dose of the vaccine at State House – the President’s official residence – on Thursday, along with Vice-President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo and days after Prime Minister, Brigadier (retired) Mark Phillips and his wife also took the jab.
In brief comments after taking the vaccine, Dr Ali used the opportunity to encourage all Guyanese to take the jab.
“While not mandatory, I urge all as far as possible to consider taking the vaccine. I’m sure it will help us as we all work together and get ahead of this pandemic,” he said.
Dr Ali reminded that his government will spare no resources in having every Guyanese vaccinated before the end of the year. He said the government continues its engagements to get some of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines here as it competes amid a global shortage for vaccines.
“Rest assured that we continue to work aggressively and we are expecting some more vaccines that will add to what is being rolled out.”
Meanwhile, the First Lady, on her Facebook page, noted, “After a long and difficult year, the light is at the end of the tunnel. I received my first shot of the AstraZeneca vaccine recently. I am grateful to the scientists, researchers and healthcare workers who have made this moment possible.
“When it’s your turn to receive a vaccine, please do your duty and take it. The vaccine reduces transmission, deaths and hospitalizations. The vaccine saves lives and reduces the burdens on our healthcare systems. Do remember, however, that we are still in the pandemic. As such, we must continue to wear masks and maintain social distancing until we reach herd immunity. The end is near and we cannot let our guard down prematurely.”
Frontline healthcare workers were the first to receive the vaccine followed by citizens over 60-years-old. The government is doing the rollout in a phased manner and intends to move to other categories of Guyanese such as persons with underlying health conditions soon.
