‘First come, first served’ – Health Min. says on Sputnik V rollout

Guyana has received a shipment of 50,000 second doses of the Russian-made Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine and Health Minister Dr. Frank Anthony says that these vaccines will be distributed from Wednesday on a “first come, first served” basis.

He said this during his daily COVID-19 update on Tuesday. Then, he did not reveal how many of these second doses Guyana received in this shipment. Earlier on Tuesday, however, the News Room was able to confirm that 50,000 doses arrived.

Over the past few months, Guyana had been receiving small, irregular supplies of these second doses. And as such, many people expressed frustration at being unable to get this vaccine.

Meanwhile, Dr. Anthony said that the people who are yet to receive the second dose of their COVID-19 vaccines can visit any of the vaccination sites across the country from Wednesday to get these vaccines. There are some 100 vaccination sites in Guyana.

Dr. Anthony previously revealed that approximately 80,000 persons are awaiting their second dose of this vaccine. Many have been waiting for months.

It was only on Friday that President Dr. Irfaan Ali said that he has been applying pressure on Russian authorities to ensure that Guyana gets a steady supply of the second doses of the Sputnik V vaccines it has ordered amid a global shortage.

It was initially reported that the second dose of the vaccine had to be given within 21 days. The Gamaleya Research Centre, which developed the Sputnik V vaccine, subsequently stated that it is possible to increase the minimum interval between the first and second vaccine shots to 90 days (about 12 weeks).