Health Minister urges HIV/AIDS victims to take COVID-19 vaccine

Health Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony said that COVID-19 vaccination among patients infected
with HIV/AIDS remains a bugbear to the Ministry. As such, he is again appealing to the more
than 9,000 people to take the jab.
Minister Anthony made the call Wednesday, as Guyana joins the rest of the world in celebration
of World AIDS Day, 2021. Dr Anthony assured that the vaccine is safe for HIV/AIDS victims.
“It is quite safe. Globally, persons have been encouraged to get vaccinated, and so far, those
persons who have been vaccinated, it has been very protective for these patients. So, I would
really encourage people to get vaccinated,” Dr. Anthony minister said.
The minister said the vaccination uptake for that population has been difficult, but he is hopeful
that persons would realise the importance of taking the vaccine. “This has been a challenge
because of these 9,000 or so patients that we have. I think there’s a myth within the HIV
community that they shouldn’t be vaccinated and unfortunately, we have to work to dispel that
myth. Because like with everybody else, if you have an underlying illness, then you should get
immunised against COVID,” Dr Anthony noted said.
Minister Anthony that to target such issues, a number of special programmes are on stream. “We
have funded a number of informational sessions through the Global Fund with key population
groups. So, we have been having sessions with MSMs, with sex workers, transgender persons
and so forth. So, we went to the key population groups and we’ve had informational sessions and
encouraging them to make sure that they get vaccinated, but their uptake is still not where it
should be,” he said.
The health minister said that that the components of the vaccines will in no way interfere with
the medications victims are currently taking. He stressed that even with the pandemic, much
effort was made to keep the HIV/AIDS clinics open so that patients could access treatment. “We
have also changed the way that we dispense medication, because in the past a patient would be
required to come to clinic at least every month. Now what we have been able to do is to give
them a longer time period. So instead of a monthly visit to the clinic, they get medication for at
least three months. We have also introduced some new innovations and that is to help to reduce
persons who might be at risk for HIV,” he said.
Dr Anthony pointed that among the new innovations, is a comprehensive PREP (Pre- exposure
prophylaxis) programme, which he said caters for persons who believe they are at risk for HIV.
Those persons, the minister explained could go to clinics for assessment. Minister Anthony said
that once found to be eligible, they will be given medication to protect them from infection.
He noted that the ministry will also be introducing the self-testing programme for HIV and other
STDs in the new year.
Regarding the COCID 19 vaccination information he said that as of Tuesday, 401,445 persons
received the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, which is approximately 78.3 per cent of the

country’s adult population. Some 279,658 persons have received a second dose, which is 54.5
per cent of the adult population.
Regarding the 12 to 17 age category, 29,256 or 40.1 per cent of the country’s adolescents took
the first dose, while 20,473 or 28.1 per cent of that age cohort are fully inoculated.