COVAX vaccines here
-a total of 100,800 expected through May
From left to right are UN Resident Coordinator Mikiko Tanaka, Advisor to the Ministry of Health Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, Health Promotion Officer at PAHO/WHO Dr. Patricia Woolford, European Union Ambassador Fernando Ponz Cantó, Acting UNICEF Representative Irfan Akhtar, PAHO/WHO Representative Dr. Luis Codina, and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Heath Malcolm Watkins. They were on hand as the first batch of 24,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses received through the COVAX Facility arrived in Guyana yesterday. (UNICEF photo)
A consignment of 24,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, obtained through the COVAX mechanism arrived yesterday morning at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri, according to a release from the COVAX partners.
These vaccines manufactured in South Korea were received free of cost under COVAX and other batches will be arriving until the figure of 100,800 is reached sometime in May.
Originally a much larger number of vaccines had been expected from COVAX but its supply chain has been stressed in recent weeks. Two doses are required per person which means that this shipment can fully vaccinate 12,000 persons.
The vaccines have been delivered via a partnership between the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/ WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
“The arrival marks a historic step towards ensuring equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines globally, in the largest vaccine procurement and supply operation in history. This delivery is part of the first phase of deliveries for Guyana, with more vaccines expected to arrive successively during 2021. According to the first round of COVAX allocations, Guyana is expected to continue receiving doses through May until it reaches 100,800, the amount specified by COVAX”, the release said.
PAHO’s Revolving Fund, which is responsible for the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines for the countries of the Americas under the COVAX Facility, shipped 24,000 doses of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine, manufactured by SK Bioscience of South Korea.
“Seeing this arrival is very reassuring and it means that more people will be able to be protected from COVID-19,” said Dr. Luis Codina, PAHO/WHO Representative in Guyana said, according to the release. “We will continue to work with the country to support vaccination along with the entire package of known public health and social measures that we know can help stop the spread of COVID-19, protect health services, and save lives.”
The release said that Guyana is one of ten countries in Latin America and the Caribbean that are receiving vaccines at no cost through the COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC). Guyana is the first AMC country in the region to receive the vaccines through COVAX.
“The Government of Guyana welcomes the arrival of vaccines from COVAX AMC. These vaccines will certainly help to expand the current vaccination efforts and assist in protecting many persons who are vulnerable to COVID-19. We will like to extend our gratitude to COVAX, PAHO/WHO, UNICEF and the UN family for their efforts in securing these vaccines for Guyana. These vaccines will definitely help to accelerate our efforts to reach herd immunity in a timely manner,” Health Minister Dr. Frank Anthony was quoted in the release as saying.
“The arrival of these vaccines and the future deliveries bring hope to families, especially children, who have suffered the consequences of the crisis caused by the pandemic, with profound impacts on education, mental health, protection and food security,” said Nicolas Pron, UNICEF Representative in Guyana. “With these vaccines more people will be protected: a key step to making sure that no one is left behind and that we are building together a better future for children and their families”, Pron added.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the UN System in Guyana has worked with government, civil society, and other partners to assist the population in responding to the health crisis and its socioeconomic effects.
“Under the leadership of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, the United Nations system has come together to help countries respond to the devastating global impact of COVID-19,” Mikiko Tanaka, UN Resident Coordinator for Guyana said, according to the release. “COVAX is a hard-won global partnership to ensure no one is left behind in the path to recovery…”, she added.
COVAX seeks to provide vaccines for at least 20% of the population of each participating country during 2021, the release said. In this first round of vaccine allocation, all COVAX participating countries will get enough doses to vaccinate between 2.2 and 2.6% of their population. The only exceptions are Small Island Developing States, which will receive an allocation of vaccines to cover between 16 and 20% of their population due to the high logistical cost of delivering small quantities of vaccines.
In a separate statement, the European Union office here said that its Ambassador to Guyana, Dr Fernando Ponz Cantó, joined key partners to witness the arrival of the vaccines. He remarked that, ‘’the European Union is committed to work to ensure that everyone who needs a vaccine gets it, anywhere in the world and not only at home.’’ He added that, ‘’COVAX is an essential vehicle for delivering on international vaccine solidarity and this first delivery is most welcomed as Guyana is forging ahead with vaccinations’’.
The EU is a major contributor to the mechanism which will deliver 32 million doses to 59 countries by the first quarter of 2021, and aims to secure 1.3 billion doses for 92 low and middle-income countries by the end of the year. The release said that vaccine flights have been taking off almost every day, and to date, the EU has announced over EURO 2.2 billion, including EURO 1 billion from the EU budget to the COVAX Facility. This contribution makes the European Union as a whole, COVAX’s biggest donor to date.
In addition, the release said that EU Member States will be able to further offer part of their doses to other third countries’ citizens through the EU Sharing mechanism, once the level of production within the EU and the overall epidemiological situation permits it.
Thus far, Guyana has received 3,000 COVID-19 vaccines from Barbados, 20,000 from China and 80,000 from India. These would be enough to fully vaccinate 51,500 persons. Yesterday’s COVAX allocation would cater for another 12,000 persons and 50,000 doses of Russia’s Sputnik 5 vaccines are due this week. Two doses of this vaccine also have to be administered to each person.