(Trinidad Express) – Government is seeking to vaccinate 300,000 more people in Trinidad and Tobago in the “shortest time.”
And to do it, all 109 health centres in T&T will be used for vaccinations, six new mass vaccination sites will be opened, and 64 private doctors will be allowed to vaccinate people, free of charge.
This according to minister of Health Terrence Deyalsingh, who spoke at the COVID-19 news conference on Saturday.
He outlined a number of sectors that would be allocated vaccine doses within the near future.
These will include Tobago, which has been allocated an additional 10,000, the prison population and prison officers, the public transportation sector including maxi and taxi drivers. Other sectors mentioned were the Unemployment Relief Programme (URP) and Community-Based Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme (CEPEP), farmers, vendors, food service industry and those with special needs.
He said: “We want to vaccinate the prison population of about 3,000. Minister Hinds and I are working together for that. National Security will get a total of about 6000 doses, 3000 for the prison population but also their prison officers, immigration and so on. We are also singling out public transportation, taxi drivers and maxi-taxi drivers, we have allocated 5000 for that and I am working with the Minister of Works and Transport for that. I am also working with the Minister of Agriculture, Lands and Fisheries, we are donating 10,000 to everybody in the agricultural sector, farmers, vendors and fisherfolk. The Ministry of Education added another 5000 for teachers. In general, for other Ministries another 20,000.”
“Assuming we get vaccines in other numbers we are now going to move to all 109 health centres throughout Trinidad and Tobago to make access much easier. 100,000 has been allocated for that in the first instance. Other sectors, you are familiar with those we have been vaccinating, manufacturing, supermarkets and so on We will now be expanding that. We are singling out the food and beverage industry, 20,000 has been allocated for that. Janitorial staff, the people working for janitorial companies, these are frontlines, 5000. Tertiary institutions, like UWI, UTT, COSTAATT, and private tertiary institutions, 20,000 allocated. We will be singling out the clergy of all religions 2000. Banks and credit unions, we would have done 2000 for banks already we are now expanding it to include credit unions 5000. We are going to do a deeper dive into supermarkets and distribution with another 15,000.”
“The pharmacy industry another 2000. We would have singled out the diabetes association with an initial target of 1000. We are now expanding this to include a coalition of Non-Communicable diseases (NCD’s). It is not just restricted to NCDs but there is a coalition of NCDs that will bring their persons and patients to us, 5000. Manufacturing is already on the cards and they will be getting an additional 5000. Construction an additional 10,000. Our special groups, the persons with autism, cerebral palsy, the blind the deaf, the auto immune, the handicapped, we have allocated based on the numbers the associations have given us, 2000. Funeral homes, persons who work with the deceased and are particularly vulnerable, between 500 to 100”.
Deyalsingh said 15,000 vaccines will be allocated to the ‘sentinel’ physicians for distribution.
He added that to facilitate the vaccination of the sectors mentioned, six new vaccination sites will be established. In these sites vaccines will be distributed with the aid of the private sector including the rotary club and chambers of commerce. He said that companies can adopt a site.
The mass vaccination sites include the Diego Martin Sporting Complex, the National Academy Performing Arts, an unnamed site in Tunapuna, the University of Trinidad and Tobago Corinth campus, the Penal Power Generation facility and the Couva Pt Lisas Chamber of Commerce building.
