House-to-house vaccination campaign starts in Bartica; flooding impacting nationwide vaccination

The ongoing nationwide flooding has impacted the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines in several regions, and the health authorities in the town of Bartica, Region Seven (Cuyuni- Mazaruni) have begun a house-to-house vaccination campaign, according to Health Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony.

During his daily COVID-19 update on Thursday, Dr. Anthony related that healthcare workers have been persistent in their efforts to get people vaccinated with one of the three COVID-19 vaccines that are used in the COVID-19 immunisation campaign, despite severe flooding in some regions.

The three vaccines used locally are AstraZeneca, Sinopharm and Sputnik V.

In some parts of Region Seven, Region Eight (Potaro- Siparuni) and Region Nine (Upper Takutu- Upper Essequibo), the Health Minister said that the geographical challenges have been exacerbated by flooding.

According to the Civil Defence Commission (CDC), Region Seven has become a Level Three disaster, meaning that it is severely affected by flooding. And, the Health Minister noted that health workers in the Upper and Middle Mazaruni communities in this region have been monitoring for water-borne disease as the flooding persists.

He, however, noted that the teams remain on standby to administer COVID-19 vaccines to anyone who would like to receive it. Meanwhile, the new house-to-house campaign in Bartica is expected to help boost the numbers in this region.

Recently, a house-to-house vaccination also commenced in Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara- Mahaica). This has been done in response to the low vaccination rates in this region.

So far, a total of 224,853 people (or 46.2 per cent of the targeted adult population) have received the first dose of their COVID-19 vaccines. Meanwhile, some 94,243 people, or 19.4 per cent of the targeted population, have received both their first and second doses. Two weeks after someone has received their send jab, they are considered fully immunised.

The regional breakdown of the vaccination rates, as provided by the Health Minister are as follows:

1. Region One- 55.9 per cent
2. Region Two- 42.4 per cent
3. Region Three- 45.7 per cent
4. Region Four- 47.8 per cent
5. Region Five- 49.3 per cent
6. Region Six- 54 per cent
7. Region Seven- 45 per cent
8. Region Eight- 29.6 per cent
9. Region Nine- 43.5 per cent
10. Region 10- 14 per cent