Caribbean: 9 Caribbean nations to receive 280,800 Oxford Astra Zeneca vaccines under COVAX through PAHO (the Pan American Health Organization).
These 9 Caribbean nations include Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, St Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Bermuda, Dominica, Dominican Republic Barbados, sources revealed.
Number of Jabs in different Caribbean nations
According to the information, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, St Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines will receive 24,000 jabs of Oxford Astra Zeneca vaccines COVAX through PAHO. At the same time, St Kitts and Nevis will get 21,600 shots of vaccine. Bermuda will get 9,600 jabs, and Dominica to get 28,800, while Barbados to receive 33,600 jabs.
The Dominican Republic will obtain the largest amount of vaccine consignment among those as mentioned earlier, i.e. 91,200. On the other hand, under this Schedule of the delivery of AstraZeneca vaccines to the Caribbean under COVAX through PAHO also includes a Non-Caribbean country that is Costa Rica is expected to get 43,200 jabs of vaccines on 7 April 2021.
6 Caribbean countries will receive vaccine today(6-April-2021), while Grenada and St Lucia will receive on 7 April 2021. Whereas Antigua and Barbuda will obtain its jabs on 8 April 2021.
PAHO’s promise for equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines
These coming 3 days will be the greatest milestone for PAHO, as in the last week of January, COVAX, a coalition led by WHO and Gavi, promised equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, declared by PAHO. PAHO Caribbean already gave the consignment of COVID-19 vaccines to Jamaica, Belize and Trinidad and Tobago.
The number of jabs and delivery schedule is still subject to emergency use approval EUL and producing the manufacturing capacity and setting up supply agreements between the producers and manufacturers, PAHO, and UNICEF. According to the COVAX declaration, it is anticipated that around 35.3 million jobs will be arriving in the United States of Americas in this first stage.
PAHO Director Carissa F. Etienne announced in one of the interviews, “With more than 45 million reported cases and more than one million death-rates, nations and territories during the Americas, especially the poorest among them, are encountering an unprecedented health, economic and social crisis.”
The Caribbean was already in need of vaccines for their population, and the generous gift of authorities will aid these nations to inoculate the target population to achieve herd immunity.
