Over 160,000 get first dose of COVID-19 vaccine

─ Gov’t increasing vaccination sites countrywide

Minister of Health, Hon. Dr. Frank Anthony says 161,886 persons have so far taken their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, which represents 33.3 per cent of the country’s adult population.

Minister Anthony was speaking during Thursday’s COVID-19 Update. He said 18, 526 persons are also now fully immunised, after receiving their second dose of the vaccine.

Minister of Health, Hon. Dr. Frank Anthony

Even with this success, the Minister is reminding everyone to continue wearing their masks, wash or sanitise their hands and practice social distancing to stop the spread of the deadly disease.

Meanwhile, Dr.  Anthony said the Ministry will be adding 100 new vaccination sites across the country to accommodate more citizens during its ongoing COVID-19 vaccination campaign. He said the Government is seeking to ensure convenient access to vaccines, particularly those individuals who may have transportation challenges.

“The sites where we are seeing quite a lot of people are really in Georgetown, but we do have sites on the East Bank of Demerara, we do have sites on the East Coast of Demerara. We will be doing a lot more outreach work this weekend. I know the teams in the different regions have been planning outreaches, and so over the weekend, we expect that there will be many more sites,” Minister Anthony said.

He noted that the new sites will allow easy access for persons unable to take the jab during weekdays.

“People on the weekends, they have a little bit more time. So perhaps we’ll see better uptake during the weekend.”

The Ministry’s fixed vaccination sites in Georgetown are located in the compounds of the Ministry of Health and Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation.

Private vaccination sites are located at the St. Joseph Mercy, Dr. Balwant Singh and Davis Memorial Hospitals.

In total, Region Four has three fixed sites on the East Coast of Demerara and four fixed sites on the East Bank of Demerara. Two mobile teams also conduct vaccination outreaches.