Minister of Health Dr. Frank Anthony yesterday disclosed that the 35 teams of health personnel that are being trained to administer COVID-19 vaccines will be able to vaccinate at least 7,000 persons per day when the vaccine rollout process gets underway.
Anthony made this disclosure during a COVID-19 briefing with President Irfaan Ali yesterday. He said that the Ministry has created a vaccine development plan and has started to ensure that vaccinations sites are prepared and expanded in all areas.
Presently, he said, 14 vaccination sites are being expanded and should be completed by the end of next week. In addition, storage capacity has also been boosted with the acquisition of freezers ranging from -70 degrees Celsius to the regular freezers. Plus, an additional 15 freezers are expected by mid-February and another order for -20-degree freezers have been placed.
The minister also spoke about the 35 teams of medical personnel currently being trained to administer the vaccines and noted that it has been estimated that they will be able to conduct at least 7,000 vaccinations per day when the rollout process begins. And a COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy survey is currently being conducted to get a sense of how Guyanese feel about being vaccinated
“We are prepared and ready, so once we start receiving vaccine we will be able to deploy them as rapidly as possible and in the safest manner as possible,” he said.
Meanwhile, the minister added, the authorities have intensified their response to the pandemic with an increase of hospital beds and Intensive Care Unit capacity across the country. The result being that every regional hospital is now able to treat severe cases of COVID-19.
Providing an update on statistics, Anthony said there are currently 837 active COVID-19 cases in the country. There are 19 patients hospitalised at the Infectious Disease hospital, 6 of whom are in the ICU. He added that there are 2 persons at the Linden Hospital Complex also in ICU. He assured that these patients are receiving the best medical care available.
Additionally, he reported that they are monitoring Waramadong in Region Seven which currently has a total of 38 active cases. A medical team is on site conducting testing, and monitoring the situation.
