Jamaica to receive 50,000 doses of vaccine from India

Indian High Commissioner to Jamaica Masakui Rungsung declared that Jamaica would get 50,000 doses of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine from India by next week.

Jamaica to receive 50,000 doses of vaccine from India
Jamaica to receive 50,000 doses of vaccine from India

Jamaica: Indian High Commissioner to Jamaica Masakui Rungsung declared that Jamaica would get 50,000 doses of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine from India by next week.

He made this announcement during the handover ceremony for medicine and supplies worth US$100,000 ($13.5 million) for the people of Jamaica.

The Indian High Commissioner to Jamaica Masakui Rungsung declined to give the exact date of the arrival and did not disclose the amount Jamaica will get.

The Health & Wellness Ministry had previously declared that it expects to receive 50,000 doses of vaccines from India.

PM Andrew Holness stated, “we would have heard the good news from the Indian High Commissioner regarding the gift of vaccines which the people of Jamaica are most grateful for, and I wish to take the opportunity to express our gratitude to Prime Minister Modi and the people of India.”

Furthermore, he added, I want the public to be reassured that your Government is acting in your best interest. We are making sure that the vaccines we have are the vaccines that are approved by the World Health Organisation, and those approvals came last week.

The Ministry of Health and Wellness is currently going through a process of training, selecting areas where vaccinations will take place, as well as a system of registration for people to be able to schedule their vaccine and be properly documented.

We are making sure that when the vaccines get here, they can be distributed and administered very quickly so that there are no delays in storage. We will start the first phase of distribution in short order.

Rungsung recorded that India has committed to providing 500,000 doses of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccines to Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries and that Jamaica’s share is ready to be dispatched.

He explained that the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccines should have been here already but that the shipment was delayed due to issues.

On the other hand, Health and Wellness Minister Dr. Christopher Tufton expressed acknowledges for the donation on behalf of the administration. Jamaica has reported more than 22,000 cases of coronavirus and over 400 deaths. 

Dr. Christopher Tufton declared on govt made another step in the fight against Covid-19 with the signing of a memorandum of understanding between public health and the private sector.

This agreement represents a partnership to secure Covid-19 vaccines for the population to be administered according to our national vaccination plan.

Click here for more news