Stringent management of Russian COVID vaccine as more to arrive on Thursday

Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony, says there are stringent management and accountability of the Russian Sputnik V, given that the vaccines must be stored at minus 18 or minus 20 degrees Celsius to maintain its 92 per cent efficacy.

Dr Anthony, during his daily COVID-19 briefing on Tuesday, emphasised that the vaccines are frozen and then thawed before it is administered.

“If you thaw out the vaccine and you didn’t use it and try to put it back that is not acceptable, you will have to throw it away,” Dr Anthony said.

Guyana is expecting another batch of the Russian jab on Thursday. An additional 30,000 doses of vaccines arrived here on Monday; in early April, Guyana received the first 25,000 doses after purchasing some 200,000 doses at a total cost of US$4M.

The additional vaccine doses will significantly boost the country’s vaccination programme. Dr Anthony further noted that health workers are also becoming more proficient in the use of the vaccine and, as such, vaccines have been deployed to Regions Four, Six and Ten. These regions, the Health Minister revealed, are the only regions that additional cold storage was created to cater for the Sputnik vaccine. He noted that Region Two’s cold storage is nearing completion.

“This is different from the usual thing…we now have to store at minus 20 so we had to make some adjustments to be able to do that,” Dr Anthony said.

To date, 63, 740 persons have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Guyana is currently administering the AstraZeneca, Sputnik and Sinopharm vaccines to frontline health workers and persons 40-years and older.

‘Our vaccination programme has been going quite well,” Dr Anthony said as he also noted the good response for persons to receive their vaccine. The vaccination programme is also being boosted with the assistance of a number of organisations who are mobilising and bringing persons out to be vaccinated.

Meanwhile, COVAX, during a meeting with Caribbean Health Ministers on Monday, revealed that the region should expect additional vaccines before May 2021.

“There wasn’t a definitive date but we should be getting additional sets of vaccine before May from COVAX. How much, we don’t know as yet, and when, we don’t know as yet,” Dr Anthony said.

During his address at the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Special Segment on Financing for Recovery from COVID-19 on Monday, Guyana’s Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh said developing countries and vulnerable states should have adequate and affordable access to COVID-19 vaccines.

Below is a list of fixed vaccination sites across the country;

The fixed sites for COVID-19 vaccination are:

Region 1       

Mabaruma Regional Hospital

Port Kaituma District Hospital

Matthew’s Ridge Hospital

Waramuri Health Centre

Manawarin Health Centre

Kumaka District Hospital

Kwebanna Health Centre

Region 2

Suddie Regional Hospital

Charity Hospital

Anna Regina Health Centre

Supernaam Health Centre

Hust Diren Health Centre

Queenstown Health Centre

Oscar Joseph Hospital

Region 3       

Parika Health Centre

Goed Intent Health Centre

Versailles Health Centre

Den Amstel Health  Centre

West Demerara Hospital

Region 4       

Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC )

Enmore Polyclinic

Diamond Diagnostic Centre

Vaccination Centre (Brickdam)

Unity Health Centre

Clonbrook Health Centre

Herstelling Health Centre

Melanie Health Centre

BV Health Centre

Lusignan Health Centre

Eccles Health Centre

Soesdyke  Health Centre

Private Hospitals

Davis Memorial Hospital

St. Joseph Mercy Hospital

Woodlands Hospital

Region 5       

Fort Wellington District Hospital

Bushlot Health Centre

Mahicony Health Centre

High Dam Health Centre

Rosignol Health Centre

 

Region 6       

New Amsterdam Hospital

Skeldon Hospital

No. 47 Village Health Centre

Port Mourant Health Centre

Bothers Health Centre

 

Region 7       

Bartica Health Centre

 

Region 8

Mahdia Hospital

Kato (Rovering Team)

 

Region 9       

Lethem Hospital

Annai Health Centre

Aishalton Hospital

Sandcreek Health Centre

 

Region 10     

Linden  Hospital

Kwakwani Health Centre

One Mile Health Centre

Amelia’s Ward Health Centre