More than 11,000 adolescents fully vaccinated

MORE THAN 11,000 CHILDREN 12 TO 17-YEARS OLD HAVE BEEN FULLY
VACCINATED against the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony, said.
Anthony said since the launch of the campaign in September to inoculate adolescents’, some 24,
460 secondary school students have received their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
He said 11,600 have so far received the second dose.
As a consequence, the Education Ministry said a phased approach to face-to-face teaching and
learning for Grades 10, 11 and 12 students from this month.
Dr Anthony said Demerara-Mahaica (Region Four) is leading the vaccination drive with 78.3
percent of the residents receiving their first dose, and 44.8 percent getting the second dose of the
inoculant.
According to the ministry’s figures, 76.8 percent receive the first dose in Region One, 57.3
percent in Region Two (Pomeroon/Supenaam). In Essequibo Islands/West Demerara (Region
Three) 66.6 per cent got their first jab, while 68.6 percent of Mahaica Berbice (Region Five)
residents also rolled up their sleeves.
Also rolling up the sleeves were 71.3 percent of Region Six (East Berbice/Corentyne) residents
and 69.4 percent of Cuyuni/Mazaruni (Region Seven) population. In Potaro/Siparuni (Region
Eight), 44.1 percent of them took the jab, while 71.6 percent followed suit in Upper
Takutu/Upper Essequibo (Region Nine).
However, skepticism remains deep in Upper Demerara/Berbice (Region Ten) with only 29.7
percent of the bauxite-mining residents so far overcoming vaccine hesitancy and rolling up the
sleeves for the initial dose.
With regards to the second dose, minister Anthony said figures show Region One with 34.8
percent; Region Two, 33.5 percent; Region Three, 35.1 percent; Region Five, 41.2 percent;

Region Six, 39.6 percent; Region Seven, 34.7 percent; Region Eight, 29.4 percent; Region Nine,
39.3 percent; and Region Ten, 13.2 percent.
“Region Ten is not doing so well both in terms of first and second doses (of the) vaccine,
because there are 29.7 [first dose] and 13.2 [second dose] …they still have a far way to go…,” he
said.
“They need to keep working to improve their vaccination rate. We have to get these numbers up.
Second dose (has to be) closer to 75 percent, once we get that we’ll start see a turnaround of
cases,” the minister counselled.
So far, 359, 222 Guyanese have received the first dose and 199, 978 the second dose.
“Now, we have 39 per cent of our adult population…fully vaccinated,” Minister Anthony
said.