Despite there being a shortage of COVID-19 vaccines to immunise the entire adult population in Guyana, increased calls by the public have led to the Government’s decision to extend the National COVID-19 Vaccination Programme to all eligible adults, according to Health Minister Dr. Frank Anthony.
“We are trying to immunise as many persons as possible…..We think it’s the appropriate time now because we have been getting a lot of calls from the public to reduce the age so we have gone to 18 years and above. All the vaccines that we currently have in Guyana are being used in the adult population and if we are going to achieve herd immunity it means that we are going to have to get most of our adult population immunised and in an effort to do so, we have lowered the age,” he stated during today’s COVID-19 update.
In a major development in the battle against the Coronavirus, Advisor to the Minister of Health, Dr Leslie Ramsammy yesterday announced that the country’s COVID-19 vaccination programme will be extended from today to persons 18 years and older and he assured that there is no shortage of shots to provide second doses.
Ramsammy made the first disclosure in a post to his Facebook Page where he stated, “We go to all age groups starting at age 18 and above as of tomorrow (today) for COVID-19 vaccination.”
Significant vaccine hesitancy has been reported in some communities here and this could affect the target date for the attainment of herd immunity – where around 80% of the population has been vaccinated.
The COVID-19 vaccination programme began in February with healthcare workers being the first to receive their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. The programme was then extended to persons 60 years and above after which the age eligibility was lowered to 40 years and above. As of today, all adults, 18 years and over can now receive their first shot of a COVID-19 vaccine.
