Over 92,000 persons vaccinated against Covid

-6,000 immunised daily

-Dr. Anthony 

Minister of Health, Hon. Dr. Frank Anthony says about 6,000 persons are turning up at vaccination sites countrywide every day for their COVID-19 vaccines.

As of Monday, 92,410 persons have received their first vaccine shot.

During Tuesday’s COVID-19 update, Dr. Anthony said: “This is a campaign that we are continuing on a daily basis. The response has been good over the last couple of days. On average, we have been getting about 6,000 people coming out.

We are hoping that we can improve that and get more people coming out and get more people vaccinated faster.”

Dr. Anthony also sought to dispel rumours surrounding the vaccine.

While persons are advised not to consume alcohol immediately before or after taking the vaccine, he says there is no scientific reason while persons who have been vaccinated should abstain from alcohol for two months.

“We haven’t seen in any of the scientific literature that the vaccine interacts in any adverse way with alcohol but, out of an abundance of precaution, I would urge that people that are coming for the vaccine, at least over the 24 hours before and 24 hours after remain sober so that we can monitor and make sure that there is no adverse reaction,” he said.

The Minister said the only category of persons who should not take the Covid vaccine are those under the age of 18.

“Persons with comorbidities or as you put it, underlying medical conditions are the ones most at risk. So, we know that persons with diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, kidney diseases and so forth, they are all at a higher risk for COVID-19. So, therefore these vaccines would help to prevent the severe form of the disease. That’s why they should come out and take the vaccine.”

The Minister also said individuals should consult their physicians on their eligibility for the vaccine.

Additionally, Dr. Anthony said people can take anti-fever or anti-inflammatory medicines after being inoculated, to ease discomfort. He affirmed that taking such medicines would not impact the efficacy of the vaccine. However, persons are advised against taking painkillers before being immunised.