Barbados to get next batch of AstraZeneca vaccines

Bridgetown: The Caribbean island of Barbados is all set to receive its new batch of the AstraZeneca vaccines by today (Thursday, February 3, 2022), which will assist the country in speeding up its COVID-19 vaccination drive.

Co-coordinator of the National Vaccination Programme for the COVID-19, Dr Elizabeth Ferdinand, noted that these AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines would be made accessible for the general public across the vaccination. She further highlighted that the previous batch of the COVID-19 vaccines was expired on January 31, 2022.

The Ministry of Health & Wellness further informed the general public that at present, Pfizer, Sinopharm, and Johnson & Johnson WHO-approved COVID-19 vaccines are available at the vaccination sites or mobile centres across the island country.

The health ministry has further asked the unvaccinated or partially vaccinated individuals to walk in at the COVID-19 vaccination centres to get themselves inoculated.

The island previously abs received a donation of the vaccines via PAHO and as well as by COVAX facility.

As per the COVID-19 vaccination statistics, till February 1, 2022, there are a total of 158,775 persons who have taken their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccines, whereas, in total, 147,277 individuals are the ones who have received their needed number of the vaccine jabs and hence, are now fully immunised.

As per the data, around 54.3% of the total population is fully vaccinated, while 64.5% of the eligible population of the Caribbean island is fully inoculated. Meanwhile, around 69.5% of the total population is vaccinated by taking at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccines.