–COVID-19 vaccination gets underway in all regions

GUYANA, Belize, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago will benefit from additional medical equipment and medical supplies to aid in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, through a grant provided by the Government of Japan to the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS).

“Through a grant from the Government of Japan (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), UNOPS will support the procurement of US$4.8 million of essential medical equipment, medical supplies and personal protective equipment to aid in the public health response to the current crisis,” a release from UNOPS noted.

The agreement for this collaboration was signed on Tuesday, during a ceremony held at the UNOPS office in San José, with the participation of Ambassador of Japan in Costa Rica, Komatsu; Director of the UNOPS Multi-Country Office for Costa Rica, Panama and the English & Dutch Speaking Caribbean, Alejandro Rossi, and Representative of the Embassy of Trinidad & Tobago in San Jose, Anesa Ali-Rodríguez.

“Japan hopes to continue strengthening relations of friendship and goodwill with the nations of Belize, Guyana, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago, and contribute to the global response against the new coronavirus. It is in the mutual interest of our countries to continue collaborating closely to face the enormous health, economic and social challenge that COVID-19 has posed for humanity,” Ambassador Shinjiro was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, the UNOPS Director highlighted that “Within the framework of our mandate as the central procurement resource of the United Nations System, UNOPS has been working with the Government of Japan on a global scale.

“It is an honour to once again be able to work alongside the health authorities of Caribbean governments, and contribute from the United Nations System to the strategy for an effective response to the pandemic, and an improvement of the national health systems, all while applying the highest standards in procurement within the approach of fair public management.”

VACCINE ROLLOUT
Meanwhile, Guyana has been intensifying its vaccination rollout as part of local efforts to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. On Tuesday, during his daily interview with the Department of Public Information (DPI), Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony highlighted that vaccination teams had been deployed in all of the country’s ten administrative regions.

Though at the time he did not have information on how many persons were vaccinated thus far, he conceded that fewer persons have been hesitant to take the vaccines.

“We expect as we go through this immunisation programme, we’ll get more people coming out. More people know where the sites are and so forth, and we will get more people vaccinated in a short period of time,” Dr. Anthony said.

Additionally, he sought to remind everyone that taking the vaccine is not mandatory. Currently, health workers are being vaccinated, as they are seen as the most at-risk group of persons. Dr. Anthony denied that health workers would be fired if they refused to take the vaccines.