-Health Ministry hosts two successful vaccination ‘drive-thru’

THE Ministry of Health (MoH) has ‘revved’ up its vaccination ‘drive-thru’ initiative into ‘overdrive’ by hosting two ‘drive-thru’ events this weekend, on the East Coast and East Bank of Demerara (EBD), simultaneously, which saw scores of persons turning up to be administered their first or second dose of their COVID-19 ‘jab’, all in an effort to reach herd immunity.

Persons were able to be administered their first or second dose AstraZeneca and Sinopharm, or first dose Sputnik V vaccines at the vaccination ‘drive-thru’ events at MovieTowne, Liliendaal, Georgetown and at the National Stadium, Providence, EBD. Both events will continue Sunday.

When the Sunday Chronicle visited the National Stadium at approximately 12:45 hours on Saturday, Dr. Oneeka Scott, Maternal Child Health Officer, said some 242 persons were already administered with either their first or second dose of either of the three vaccines distributed locally and she expected in excess of 1,000 people to attend on the first day, at that location.

Dr. Scott highlighted that the initiative was scheduled to commence at 10:00 hours, however, people turned up as early as 8:00 hours. She used the words “exciting, exhilarating, gratifying” and “satisfying” to describe how “happy” the team of 135, comprising of staff from the Ministry of Health and volunteers, are to be serving the people of Guyana.

“You have just over 250 people working at both locations. There are a number of institutions collaborating with us, the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) being our right hand for some time now … we do have a few volunteers from some of the medical schools, we have nurses, we have the clerical persons that were hired, and of course we do have the MoH staff who’s organising all of this,” Dr. Scott said.

She added, “This is about convenience, it’s about access, it’s about ensuring that we provide every possible opportunity for people to be vaccinated and we are seeing, as the two previous ‘drive-thru’ activities we’ve had, that people are excited about.”

Over at MovieTowne, at Turkeyen, Communications Manager of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), Chelauna Providence, told this newspaper that at approximately 13:30 hours, over 300 persons were already administered with a dose of their COVID-19 ‘jab’.

“We’ve had a pretty overwhelming response, there has been a constant flow of traffic since we started this morning, people are commenting on the convenience of being able to come in their vehicles, they’re coming out with their family, friends and co-workers and getting vaccinated, so we’re really happy about that,” she said.

Providence disclosed that based on the response to Saturday and Sunday’s activities, it is the organisers’ intention to explore the possibility of making the ‘drive-thru’ a permanent arrangement “to encourage people to get vaccinated in a setting convenient to them, so that we can reach heard immunity, the ultimate goal.”

“One of the interesting things is that we’ve had some partnerships with private sector agencies, such as SOL Guyana, MovieTowne, DeSinco Trading, etc, to do some giveaways as a little incentive for people getting vaccinated, but the biggest incentive of all is securing our own health and of those around us,” she said.

Dr. Farah December of the immunisation programme at the Child Health Department of the GHPC, urged persons to “get the information necessary to make informed decisions with regards to becoming vaccinated” from “credible sources” and “make an informed decision for yourself and your loved ones.”

“Our immunisation programme in Guyana has a very good track record, we have been able to eliminate certain diseases from our country and remain safe from certain diseases just due to vaccines. Vaccines work, please let us all work together so that we can eliminate COVID-19 from the shores of this country,” Dr. December pleaded.

Khaleel Baig, a 22-year-old Trinidadian residing in Diamond, East Bank Demerara, received his first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine at the National Stadium. He told the Sunday Chronicle that the ‘drive-thru’ initiative is “perfect,” as he urged his home country of Trinidad and Togabo to follow Guyana’s lead in how the initiative is being rolled out.

Vijay Singh from La Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara, travelled to the National Stadium to be adminsitered his first dose of the Sputnik V vaccine. He said he was eager to be administered his vaccine, noting that due to medical complications, he was previously barred from doing so.

He described the ‘drive-thru’ event as “easy, simple and fast.” Travelling all the way from the West Demerara, he urged and recommended that similar initiatives are implemented in other parts of the country.

A pensioner in his 70’s and a firm believer in the Lord, who withheld his name, told this publication that “God did not rule out doctors” and “when Jesus walked the face of the earth, he had a doctor with him.”

He posited that God “gave man wisdom, knowledge and understanding, for medical purposes as well” and he “leaned” upon the book of Proverbs, chapter three, verses five and six as he registered his trust in vaccination saving lives.