More Sinopharm ‘COVID vaccines expected this month

Days after confirming that Guyana made a down-payment for 150,000 doses of the single-dose Johnson and Johnson vaccine through the African Union, Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony, has said that more of the Chinese Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines are expected this month.

Last week, Vice- President Bharrat Jagdeo revealed that the Chinese authorities reached out to the government to possibly supply additional doses of the Sinopharm vaccines. Then, he said that those discussions were ongoing.

On Friday, during his daily COVID-19 update, the Health Minister did not state how many doses are expected, nor the cost of these vaccines.  In addition to these Sinopharm vaccines, the Health Minister also reminded members of the public that additional doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccines should be arriving shortly.

Additionally, he said another portion of the AstraZeneca vaccines that have been earmarked for Guyana through the World Health Organization (WHO) should arrive here this month, too.

Previously, he noted that Guyana made a down payment to the African Union for 150,000 doses of the single-dose Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccines.

“We have vaccines from multiple sources that would be coming in at different points throughout the month. As said before, we have enough vaccines for the adult population of Guyana,” Dr Anthony said.

Already, Barbados, India and China made donations to Guyana while the country has purchased the Sputnik V vaccines from Russia. The country also received a smaller consignment of vaccines through the COVAX facility.

Importantly, on Friday, the Health Minister also related that the country has been able to vaccinate more than 207,889 individuals with their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccines. This accounts for about 42.7 per cent of the total adult population.

Meanwhile, some 15 per cent of the population, or 73,471 people, have received both their first and second doses. Two weeks after an individual receives their second dose, they are considered fully vaccinated.