— more than 25,000 persons have been vaccinated thus far

FROM as early as next week, persons who are 40 years and older will be able to access the COVID-19 vaccines currently being administered to frontline healthcare workers and citizens ages 60 and above. President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, made the announcement on Wednesday night during a broadcast address to the nation.
As part of the notable expansion of the vaccination programme, the Government is aiming to have at least 10,000 persons vaccinated each day, as means of ensuring Guyana achieves herd immunity. “To aggressively expand the programme, the Government of Guyana has secured 200,000 doses of vaccines and is exploring the further procurement of another 200,000 doses aimed at achieving herd immunity in the fastest possible timeframe,” Dr. Ali informed.
Herd immunity, or community immunity refers to the immunisation of a large section of a population. It is said that that if enough persons become resistant to a specific disease such as the coronavirus, then eventually its spread will be contained. Herd immunity also helps to protect vulnerable groups, such as babies.
The President explained that since the vaccination programme commenced on March 5, 2021, in excess of 25,000 persons have been vaccinated throughout the country.

Further, he said that since January 2021, his administration approached several governments, manufacturers and agencies to procure vaccines for citizens. These include India, Russia, China, the United Arabs Emirates (UAE), as well as vaccine producers, AstraZeneca and Pfizer.
“In order to store and manage the vaccines, and execute the task, the Ministry of Health has engaged various private sector players with capacity to assist,” President Ali said. He explained that in order to achieve the desired level of immunisation, the Government of Guyana has embarked on an integrated approach which will see the participation of various stakeholders, including local government bodies, civil society groups, medical and nursing students, as well as the medical brigade of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF).

“These personnel will be trained to assist in documentation of citizens, so as to expedite the vaccination process,” Dr. Ali said, adding that in the coming days the GDF will provide support in the form of 400 officers who will assist in expediting the registration of citizens.
“Students from the medical and nursing programmes will volunteer and lend support to this expanded and aggressive vaccination programme,” the President said. He was quick to note also that all volunteers will be vaccinated as a means of limiting their exposure to the virus.
Additionally, Dr. Ali said that an expanded joint operation has been launched to strengthen security at the country’s borders. These efforts will see the input of the country’s immigration department, the GDF, the Guyana Police Force, COVID-19 Task Force and its regional committees, the private sector and other members of civil society.