Guyana to get 100,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccines this week

A shipment of 100,000 doses of the Chinese manufactured Sinopahrm vaccine, used to inoculate people against the COVID-19 virus, is expected in Guyana this week.

This is according to Minister of Health Dr. Frank Anthony who also revealed that there were still no dates for the arrival of the single-shot Johnson and Johnson vaccine or another shipment of AstraZeneca through the COVAX facility.

Dr. Anthony also could not provide any updates on an arrival date for the delayed second doses of the Russian made Sputnik V vaccines.

After an initially donation of 20, 000 Sinopharm vaccines from the Chinese government, Guyana went out to procure the additional100,000 of the Sinopharm vaccines.

Guyana is buying the vaccines for US$15 per dose.

Meanwhile, Guyana is expected to receive approximately 150,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson single-shot COVID-19 vaccine by next month but an exact arrival date is unknown.

The procurement of these vaccines is being facilitated through a deal between CARICOM and the African Union (AU). Through this arrangement, the AU has set aside some 1.5 million doses of vaccines for the Caribbean.

Having already received two shipments of AstraZeneca vaccines through the COVAX facility, 24,000 doses and 38,400 doses respectively, Guyana is set to receive a third shipment shortly.

Guyana is expected to continue receiving doses until it reaches 100,800, the amount specified by COVAX. Guyana is one of ten countries in Latin America and the Caribbean that are receiving vaccines at no cost through the COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC).

The government’s policy is to acquire as many vaccines as possible from multiple sources and with thousands of doses of the Sputnik V purchased Guyana now awaits word on the arrival of a batch of component two of the vaccines which has been delayed for several weeks now.

According to Dr. Anthony, as of Sunday June 27, 2021, a total of 231, 766 Guyanese have received the first doses of one of the three vaccines currently being administered.

That accounts for 47.6 % of the adult population

The numbers are different for second doses with just about 106, 344 persons having received both doses. That is just about 21.8% of the adult population.