Home Health COVID-19: ‘One dose does not fully protect you’ – Health Minister

COVID-19: ‘One dose does not fully protect you’ – Health Minister

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Minister of Health Dr Frank Anthony has appealed once again for persons to get their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as a “corresponding lag” has been observed.

In his daily COVID-19 update on Thursday, the Health Minister stated that as of Wednesday, 327,519 people or 63.8 per cent of the country’s adult population have been vaccinated with a first dose of the Sinopharm, AstraZeneca or Sputnik V vaccine.

However, while those numbers are “doing well”, he noted second doses numbers have been lagging.

“Persons would take the first dose and are not coming back for the second dose but you are not going to get full protection,” the Health Minister stressed.

“One dose does not fully protect you…it will give you some level of protection but not full protection so you need to get your second dose,” he added.

According to Dr Anthony, 30,000 persons are eligible to receive their second jab of the AstraZeneca vaccine and so he appealed for those persons to get fully inoculated.

The Health Minister made it clear that there are enough second doses of the Sinopharm and AstraZeneca vaccines for persons to get vaccinated.

And as it relates to the Sputnik V second component, the minister explained that when the government receives the next shipment, it will be rolled out immediately. The News Room understands that thousands of people are awaiting their second dose of this vaccine following a delay in the shipments from the Russian provider.

Meanwhile, the surge in COVID-19 cases continues and over the past 24-hours, Guyana would have recorded another 240 new infections.

Currently, there are 2,709 active cases spread out across the ten administrative regions.

The Health Minister had reported previously that Tuschen on the East Bank of Essequibo; Diamond and Grove on the East Bank of Demerara; Kitty, Sophia along with Cummings Lodge in Georgetown are just some of the few COVID hotspots across the country.

And while the Health Ministry’s ‘Operation CoviCurb’ is still in full swing, the Health Minister explained that persons continue to be complacent.

“They do not wear their mask and if they are wearing it, it is under the chin,” he explained.

“It is a constant battle to get people to understand the importance of taking heed to these measures.”

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