Dear Editor,
TODAY marks exactly one year since Guyana started its COVID-19 vaccination programme. The Guyanese healthcare providers, led by Guyana’s distinguished immunisation nurses, and including other nurses, medex, community health workers, doctors and community volunteers, have excelled at a time when the Guyanese people needed them.

For one year, these nurse-led teams have been out of their regular work stations and in community settings, even in the streets, ensuring all those Guyanese who volunteered to take their COVID-19 vaccines were able to be recipients of one of the most coveted vaccines in the history of medicines. The vaccination teams led by public health nurses deserve commendation. When people did not show up to the health centres and vaccination sites, health workers walked house-to-house and did drive throughs and other means to reach people.

The success in the COVID-19 vaccination programme is testimony to the dedication and commitment of the healthcare workers.

As one of the ministry’s and the government’s official that was intimately involved with the COVID-19 vaccination programme, I would like to express my gratitude to the selfless work of the public health workers. It would be remiss of me if I were to ignore the leadership roles played by the leaders in the programme – Drs. Ertenisa Hamilton, Dr. Onieka Scott, Dr. Farrah December, Dr. Anand Persaud and their team at the MOH. It would be remiss of me not to mention the team leaders in the 10 regions of Guyana and the leadership roles of the RHOs. Guyana owes these leaders a debt of gratitude.

The first person in Guyana to receive the COVID-19 vaccine was a pharmacist from the Georgetown Public Hospital. Since then, more than 462,000 Guyanese citizens older than 12 years have received, at least a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine. Of those who have received at least a first dose, almost 429,000 are older than 18 and almost 34,000 are between 12 and 18 years old. This means that almost 84 per cent of Guyanese adults have had at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine and that almost 79 per cent of all Guyanese 12 years and older have had one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Thus far, 345,000 Guyanese 12 years and older have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. This means that almost 45 per cent of the entire Guyanese population are now fully vaccinated and more than 62 per cent of the population 18 years and older are fully vaccinated. More than 45,000 Guyanese have had a booster shot of COVID-19 vaccine.

For Guyanese 60 years and older, more than 83 per cent have had a first dose, more than 73 per cent are fully vaccinated and 21 per cent have had a booster. For the population 40 to 59 years old, 83 per cent have had a single dose, 68 per cent are fully vaccinated and 10 per cent have had a booster at this time. For the age group 18 to 39, 81 per cent have received a first dose, 57 per cent are fully vaccinated and five per cent have had a booster. For the 12 to 17 age group, 46 per cent have had a first dose and 33 per cent are fully vaccinated.

These are impressive numbers and some of the persons who have not been registered as receiving any vaccine might have had their vaccines done overseas also.

At this first year point, gratitude must also be expressed to the Guyanese people who have overwhelmingly responded to the COVID-19 vaccination programme. While there is disappointment that a full 15 per cent of the population have remained hesitant, we must continue to work with this sub-population to ensure that all eligible Guyanese are fully vaccinated with booster shots.

The Government of Guyana has shown its determination and its commitment to ensuring no Guyanese citizen is left behind. As a Guyanese citizen, I am grateful for the proactive posture the President Irfaan Ali-led government adopted from the very beginning when the President declared that no cost would be too much to ensure all Guyanese are vaccinated against COVID-19. The leadership of the President and the Vice-President in ensuring Guyana had the resources to administer such a vast programme is testimony to their own commitment to the health and safety of our people.

At the same time, gratitude is owed to the private sector companies, like Banks DIH, DDL and Sterling Limited and their corporate management. They stepped up when we needed them to produce logistical support.

As a Guyanese citizen, we must value the work done by the Honourable Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony, and his MOH team of administrators who ensured timely supply of the vaccines and the supplies necessary.

The international community played a pivotal role in our success story. Our first vaccine came from India from a donation India made to Barbados. The Barbadian Government donated some of their vaccines to other CARICOM countries, Guyana being one of those. The Astra Zeneca vaccine (AZ), 3,000 doses were administered to various first and front-line healthcare providers. Since then, Guyana has administered AZ, Sputnik V, Sinopharm, Pfizer, Johnson and Johnson, and Moderna vaccines to the Guyanese people.

Our gratitude is owed to COVAX and PAHO/WHO and UNICEF, the UNDP and other UN agencies for coordinating COVAX support and also providing valuable technical and logistical support. International partners such as the USA, Canada, the UK, the EU, Spain, France, Middle Eastern countries, India and China deserve our respect and gratitude.

The President had declared that our goal is for more than 70 per cent of the population to be fully vaccinated by end of June. As we mark one year since the COVID-19 vaccination programme started, we are in a position to achieve this. I am hopeful that we can surpass the goal of 70 per cent. The President and the Government of Guyana have done their part. We the citizens must do our part. For those of us who have fully complied, let us work with those who for one reason or the other have not yet come forward. It is in the interest of our country and our people for all of us to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Let us remember that Guyana is free of polio, smallpox, mumps, rubella, yellow fever and other killer diseases because all our children are covered with vaccines against these diseases. We can end COVID-19’s journey as a killer disease. But the starting point has to be a population fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Yours sincerely,
Dr. Leslie Ramsammy