Top three officials of Dominica receives the first dose of vaccine

Dominica: Charles Savarin, President of Dominica, received the AstraZeneca vaccine with other dignitaries on Friday.

President of Dominica received the vaccine this morning (February 12, 2021) at the Dominica China Friendship Hospital. His wife was given the jab quickly afterward, the consignment received.

Moments after taking the shot, President Savarin requested fellow Dominicans to take the vaccine, noting that it “will assist in our fight against the pandemic.”

Furthermore, he added, “I hope everybody else in Dominica will do the same. I know few have some misgivings about immunizations, but they are not new.” 

“We’ve been injected versus polio, against smallpox, and vaccinated against several epidemics and pandemics, so I would prescribe all Dominicans to take benefit of this chance to improve the immunity of the population against coronavirus.”

The President acknowledged the Government of India, who donated 70,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to Dominica, also praised Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, who has gifted 5000 doses of the vaccine to Antigua and Barbuda with donations to Grenada, St. Lucia, and other OECS countries.

Additionally, he added, “We are an island, but we are not confined nor are we immune from the region, and while we would like to see herd immunity here in Dominica, our protection will depend on herd immunity in the region, Barbados and the OECS.”

“I believe that the attempts being made here in Dominica of the sharing of resources with the rest of the OECS will support us in maintaining more effectively and efficiently this coronavirus pandemic and probably in the short run build herd immunity in the OECS.”

Health Minister Dr. Irvin Mc Intyre and Parliamentary Secretary Kent Edwards were also among other officials to get the coronavirus vaccine today as part of a roll-out of the immunization program in Dominica.

Prime Minister Skerrit declared earlier this week that the roll-out process would begin on February 22; however, a memorandum sent from the Chief Medical Officer (AG), Dr. Laura Esprit, dated February 11, 2021, showed that the execution of the vaccination would begin today.

The memo petitioned that all preference groups, including health care workers, police officers, customs and immigration officers, port authorization personnel, and coronavirus certified taxi drivers who have already decided to take the vaccine, make themselves available for administration 11:am to 3:00 pm today.

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