Dozens of frontline workers get COVID vaccines
A pharmacist attached to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) was the first of dozens of frontline healthcare workers who were inoculated with the Oxford AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine yesterday, almost one year after the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Guyana.
The vaccination drive came one day after the Government of Barbados donated 3,000 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to Guyana. Approximately 1,500 healthcare workers are expected to be vaccinated with the double-dose vaccine in the coming days. Their second dose will be administered in eight to twelve weeks. Director of Medical and Professional Services Dr Fawcett Jeffrey said there are around 300 frontline healthcare workers attached to the GPH and the infectious diseases hospital and by the end of the day they should have all received their first dose of the vaccine.
Pharmacist Brinnet Bernarai received her first dose of the vaccine yesterday shortly after 9 am in the presence of senior health officials including Minister of Health Dr Frank Anthony, who said that the first inoculation against COVID-19 is a historic moment as it signals the beginning of the end of the pandemic.
He noted that the government’s intention is to inoculate at least 80 per cent of the Guyanese adult population by the end of 2021 so as to achieve herd immunity. He said that the Ministry is extremely pleased to initiate the process noting that by the end of the month they should be receiving more vaccines, with the 20,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccine promised by China, to arrive in March.
Anthony stated that it has been decided to kick-start vaccination at the GPH because from the beginning of the pandemic it has been the epicentre of the fight against COVID-19. He added that patients with the most severe form of the virus were taken to the GPH until about two months ago when all severe patients were taken to the infectious diseases hospital at Liliendaal. Despite this, he said, many persons still go to the GPH and healthcare workers still have to screen patients to see whether or not they are infected with COVID-19, so exposure risk is still very high at the hospital.
“Therefore we thought it fit that the staff here be the first ones that we start with but very shortly we will be rolling out these vaccines to regional hospitals,” he noted.
The Minister went on to say now that vaccination is on the horizon, the Ministry will be ramping up education on the various vaccinations so persons can understand how vaccines work and to try to dispel any negativity towards COVID-19 vaccination as there are many persons in Guyana who are unsure of whether or not they should be inoculated.
“Around the world this is a very scarce commodity so once we get it we want to ensure that we can get it into the arms of people as quickly as possible,” he said. COVID-19 vaccinations are not mandatory.
With vaccines expected from COVAX later this month, Anthony informed that by early March all healthcare workers in the public and private sector should receive their first dose of the vaccine. There are at least 22,000 health care workers in Guyana, according to the minister.
COVAX has promised to supply Guyana with 104,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. He added that more doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine will be made available through other bilateral arrangements, noting that discussions are currently ongoing regarding the Sputnik V vaccine from Russia.
Meanwhile, Anthony disclosed that a National Group has been established to monitor for possible side effects in persons who have been vaccinated. He said that persons will have to report to the group if they are experiencing any adverse side effects and the group will do their best to assist. However, he pointed out that healthcare workers administering the vaccinations will explain what side effects to expect and what to do if those side effects are adverse. He noted that according to protocols, a person will have to wait 15 to 20 minutes before leaving the premises.
The minister said that they have not received any report of major side effects originating from the AstraZeneca vaccine and millions of doses have already been administered. However, he assured they will continue to monitor the situation to see if there are any major developments relating to the AstraZeneca vaccine and possible side effects.
When all healthcare workers are vaccinated, the elderly and persons with comorbidities will be inoculated followed by members of the joint services. More than 150 persons were vaccinated yesterday, according to Anthony’s latest update.
- Eight overseas players and two Indian players have chosen to be slotted in the highest bracket of the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction with a base price of two crore rupees ($275,000), India’s cricket board (BCCI) said yesterday.
Australia’s Steve Smith and Glenn Maxwell, England’s Moeen Ali, Sam Billings, Liam Plunkett, Jason Roy and Mark Wood and Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan are in the bracket along with veteran Indian spinners Harbhajan Singh and Kedar Jadhav.
A total of 292 cricketers — 164 Indians, 125 overseas players and three from Associate Nations — will go under the hammer when the auction takes place in Chennai on Feb. 18. The list was trimmed down from 1,114 players who had registered after the eight teams submitted their shortlists of players. The annual tournament is set to be played between April and May this year.
Smith, who captained the Rajasthan Royals, was one of eight players released last month by the franchise which finished last in the eight-team league. However, they retained the English trio of Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Jofra Archer.
Maxwell was among nine released by Kings XI Punjab after an underwhelming season and the franchise have the biggest salary cap available with 14 slots to fill, which includes five overseas slots.
Royal Challengers Bangalore, led by Indian skipper Virat Kohli, have the most available slots with 11 to be filled which includes three overseas slots.
The oldest player on the list is England’s 42-year-old Nayan Doshi, son of former Indian bowler Dilip, while the youngest is Afghanistan’s uncapped spinner Noor Ahmad who is only 16.
MELBOURNE, (Reuters) - A tearful Sofia Kenin admitted the pressure of defending a Grand Slam title for the first time had proved too great after she tumbled out of the Australian Open in the second round yesterday.
The 22-year-old American looked a shadow of the player that won her first major title at Melbourne Park and reached the French Open final last season as she succumbed 6-3 6-2 to Estonian veteran Kaia Kanepi on Margaret Court Arena.
Ashen-faced, with her eyes already blotchy before she sat down for her postmatch media conference, Kenin struggled to hold back the tears as she explained what had happened out on court.
“My head wasn’t there,” she said. “Obviously I’m not going to take any credit away from her. She played really well at those good points.
“I had chances. I just couldn’t take it. I obviously know why because the nerves big-time got to me.”
The tears returned again when she was asked about the pressure of defending the title, adding that she knew retaining the trophy would be a tall order given her mental state.
“I’m not there 100% physically, mentally, my game. Everything just feels real off obviously. It’s not good,” she added.
“It’s weird. I’ve been practicing for two weeks. Luckily I’ve been able to practice. I felt fine in practice. Just couldn’t do that in the game.”
Russian-born Kenin said she had not decided where she would play next but admitted she had a lot of thinking to do about how to arrest the slump in her form.
“I know I couldn’t really handle the pressure,” she said.
“I’m not obviously used to this, so right now I just got to figure out how to play at that level that I played at. Because like today and those matches, it just hasn’t been there.”
The exit of the fourth seed, even at the hands of a player who last week was ranked 94th in the world, was not the surprise it might have been given that Kenin had been talking about struggling with her nerves since finishing quarantine.
“The Australia trip, that was something that I had my eye on,” she said.
“I knew I was going to have pressure. I knew I was going to have emotions, nerves, everything all together. Yeah, for sure Australia, the Aussie swing, definitely got me.”