Pfizer vaccine rollout set for Thursday at St Stanislaus College

The US-made Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is set to rollout in Guyana on Thursday starting at the St Stanislaus College in Georgetown.

The country received 146,250 of the vaccines on Tuesday which will be used to immunise children aged 12 to 18 years.

Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony on Wednesday said Guyana is expecting more vaccines in the coming months. This first batch was donated by the US government which allows more than 70,000 children to be vaccinated.

“With the allocation to Guyana we will have enough Pfizer vaccines to cover our entire young population, that is persons below the ages of 18…,” Dr Anthony said during his daily COVID-19 update.

The Health Minister is hopeful that parents will have their child/children vaccinated so as to safeguard them once schools reopen on September 6. But Education Minister Priya Manickchand assured that unvaccinated children will not be prevented from attending physical classes when schools are reopened.

A sensitisation session on the vaccines will also be done on Thursday; this will be followed with the names of other schools that will be used as immunisation sites.

Meanwhile, Dr Anthony said the government is anxiously awaiting data from the US Federal Drug Administration (FDA) as to whether the Pfizer vaccine can be used to vaccinate children between the ages of five and 11.

“So once we see that emergency use authorization for use in the younger population, we will be able to extend the vaccination to younger population.”

The countrywide vaccination programme is ongoing with 305, 012 persons 18 and older receiving their first dose and 155, 688 fully vaccinated.

A regional breakdown of the vaccination programme shows Region One continue to lead with 70.9 per cent of its population vaccinated with the first dose; this is followed by Region Nine with 66.9 per cent.

Other regions already with the first dose are as follows; Region Two (50.6 per cent), Region Three (56.9 percent), Region Four (63.8 per cent), Region Five (59.3 per cent), Region Six (64.5 per cent), Region Seven (61 per cent), Region Eight (39 per cent) and Region Ten (21.9 per cent).

The Health Minister explained that the challenge in Region Eight is as a result of myths in the community where religious leaders are taking a strong stance telling residents that they don’t need the vaccine if they believe in God.