Gov’t denies child dies after receiving COVID-19 vaccine
GUYANA ON Friday denied social media reports that a child had died after receiving a Pfizer vaccine and denounced those bent on spreading propaganda.
In a statement, the Ministry of Health said that it had taken note of the postings of a video “purporting to be a child who had just received the Pfizer vaccine and instantly reacted and died.
“The Ministry of Health (MOH) would like the public to know that no such vaccine-related incident occurred in Nabaclis or anywhere else in Guyana. With over 25,000 adolescents receiving the Pfizer vaccine, there has been no death or any serious illness.
“Those who are spreading such fake news, using a non-vaccine related tragedy, are guilty of dangerous, deadly mischief-making and propaganda,” the ministry said, adding that “a family tragedy is being used to wickedly promote false stories about COVID-19 vaccines in an effort to derail the vaccine programme in Guyana.
“We urge those who are spreading this story to desist from doing so. The MOH intends to report this deliberate misinformation campaign to the cybercrime unit so that action can be taken to bring those responsible to justice.”
The ministry also reiterates that all vaccines used for adolescents and adults are safe, adding that after more than 60,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered, there has not been any serious negative reaction.
“We, therefore, urge all eligible citizens to come forward to get their vaccines,” the MOH said.
SIGNING A MOU
Guyana also announced on Friday that it will sign a memorandum of understanding to access the Indian COVID Vaccine Intelligence Network (CoWIN) and the platform will enable the Ministry of Health to better track vaccination data.
Following tremendous interest in the application, India announced that CoWIN will be made an open source to any country for health interventions across the world.
The software, which will be tailored for local use, will allow the ministry to observe trends and patterns in the vaccination process, which will contribute positively to the current process, and would also be useful for future reference.
In the meantime, Guyana’s vaccination record-keeping has been quite comprehensive at both the regional and national levels. To date, 359,222 adults have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 199,978 are fully inoculated. Some 24,460 adolescents have received their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine.