A total of 1,071 people received COVID-19 vaccines on Saturday at the inaugural COVID-19 vaccination drive-thru, held at the National Stadium at Providence, on the East Bank of Demerara (EBD).
This information was highlighted by Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony during his daily COVID-19 Update on Monday. According to him, 931 individuals received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccines while 140 individuals received their second dose.
The COVID-19 vaccines used locally- that is, the Russian Sputnik V, the Chinese Sinopharm and the Indian Oxford-AstraZeneca- are two-dose vaccines. Two weeks after an individual receives their second dose, they are considered to be fully immunised.
Dr. Anthony noted that Saturday’s event garnered one of the higher records of vaccination uptake since Guyana began its COVID-19 immunisation rollout in February of this year. In addition to those individuals who used the drive-thru option, he said that there were a number of individuals who opted to walk-in and get vaccinated.
The Health Minister also related that the crowd was drawn from Region Three (Essequibo Islands- West Demerara) and Georgetown and the East Bank of Demerara (EBD), in Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica).
Following the success of the drive-thru vaccination event, the Health Minister said that this event will be repeated on Wednesday, which is Independence Day, a public holiday. That drive-thru event which will be held at the National Stadium as well, will commence at 09:00 hrs and end at 17:00 hrs.
He noted that the Regional Health Officers (RHOs) are also considering how this event can be replicated in other regions.
Across the country, the Health Minister indicated that 184,319 individuals, or 37.9 per cent of the targeted adult population, have received their first dose of the vaccine while 54,691 individuals, or 11.3 per cent of the targeted population, have received their second dose.
Vaccination uptake in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice), the Minister highlighted, continues to lag behind the other regions. Only 11.3 per cent of the adult population in this region have received atleast one dose of their COVID-19 vaccines.
