-Health Minister applauds this ‘positive’ change in attitude

IN recent weeks, the Ministry of Health has seen an increase in persons coming forward to get their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to subject minister, Dr. Frank Anthony.

The minister made this disclosure on Wednesday during his daily COVID-19 update, where he noted that although many have publicly voiced their reluctance to get the vaccine due mainly to widespread misinformation, more persons are now turning up at the ministry’s vaccination sites.

He said that this represents a positive change that will benefit the country holistically in curtailing the deadly effects of the virus.

“Well we’re seeing a lot of persons who were reluctant coming forward and getting their vaccine and I think that’s a positive thing so we will monitor to see how that is affecting our capacity to deliver service. But ultimately we want people to be vaccinated because our staff they are on the frontline where if you’re a medical staff, you’re constantly in contact with the general public and you’re offering services to the general public which puts you at risk if somebody is infected with COVID, and the best way that you can reduce that risk is to be vaccinated,” said Minister Anthony.

Government has been rolling out an aggressive COVID-19 vaccination programme that gives anyone above the age of 18 the opportunity to receive a vaccine to protect themselves against the severe form of the virus. Currently, government is offering the Russian-produced Sputnik V vaccine, the Chinese-made Sinopharm vaccine, and the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine.

He noted that the ministry is expecting another shipment of the second dose of the Sputnik V vaccine “within the week.” Further, he stated that some 50,000 doses of the Oxford AstraZeneca Vaccine will also arrive in the country later this week from the COVAX facility.

Meanwhile, Minister Anthony noted the importance of health workers to the country and indicated that those who are opposed to taking the vaccine must present weekly negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests before entering their place of employment.

“This is a public safety matter as well. Imagine if you’re unvaccinated or a patient who’s unvaccinated come to the hospital and you have staff who are unvaccinated working with you, that could be dangerous. So, it’s ethical, moral, and we have to protect ourselves and I really do believe that with a little more education that the healthcare workers who are reluctant would understand the importance and the need to get vaccinated,” he said.

With the government’s intensified efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, 275,451Guyanese or 56.6 per cent of Guyana’s adult population have received their first dose. Of that number, about 145,566 or 29.9 per cent have received both doses of the vaccine and are classified as fully vaccinated.

Minister Anthony disclosed that while vaccination rates have been increasing, there is still a significant way to go before the country can achieve herd immunity which would be reflected in the vaccination of 80-85 per cent of the country’s adult population.