VIEW IT HERE …… COVID-19 update and press conference – February 10, 2021. (PMO)
Government will continue to go up against large and developed countries in its quest to secure additional COVID-19 vaccines for the people of Barbados.
Chair of the COVID-19 Health Communications Team, Ambassador Elizabeth Thompson gave this assurance this evening, as the country prepares to begin its national vaccination campaign from tomorrow with the island’s leaders and frontline workers among the first to receive the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
Ambassador Thompson explained that there was competition in the global marketplace for the vaccine, and Barbados was but a small island developing state with a “tiny population the size of a small town in the United States”.
“There are countries with wealth and power and large populations getting vaccine products, and they can order. The EU can order millions of vaccines. Africa can order millions of vaccines. Other countries that have populations that run into the tens or hundreds of millions can order large doses of vaccines.
“Where there is a limited product and you are a manufacturer or vendor, it means that you have power in the marketplace and you can determine who you sell to, when you sell, and how much,” she said.
However, she noted that Barbados became the first country in the independent Caribbean to begin a national vaccination campaign, having secured its first 100,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca from India, which arrived on the island last night.
“Now we have the Oxford-AstraZeneca, which is a high-quality vaccine, with high efficacy suited to our climactic conditions, and to our population, our demographic profile, efforts are continuing to ensure that we have other vaccines because there are different types on the market,” the Ambassador declared.
She added that a committee was established to determine the suitability and other related issues from a medical and logistical perspective and to make recommendations to Government.
However, she pointed out that pricing and availability considerations would also have to be taken into consideration. “Just because a vaccine is in the market it doesn’t mean that it is best suited to our conditions, or that it is available to us for purchase,” she pointed out.
Ambassador Thompson said while Government was able to negotiate and receive some vaccines free of cost, it was prepared to pay “whatever the market demands” to ensure that Barbadians were safe and protected, and the island’s economy can reopen fully again.
“The vaccine is here. We are in a good position. By comparison with many populations across the world we are positioning ourselves for protecting our public and boosting our economy. A protected public is the first step to a vibrant and fully open economy,” she stated.
JULIA RAWLINS-BENTHAM – BGIS
——————————————————————————————————————–
Private doctors will not, at this time, be able to offer the COVID-19 vaccine to their patients.
Public Health Specialist and Co-coordinator of the National COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign, Dr. Elizabeth Ferdinand, said the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine would only be administered through the public health system.
She added that some private practitioners had offered up their offices to be used as vaccination sites, but even then the vaccines would be free.
Dr. Ferdinand explained that the infrastructure of the vaccine programme simply would not allow for private doctors to get doses of the vaccine.
“You have to have the medical programme and the information; a medical clerk to enter the data; the public health nurse to do the injection; and the SHAPE application to do the recording of the [vaccination] certificate.
“Generally speaking for this first round, we are not entertaining really every single private practitioner being able to inject their own patients. We would, however, like them to advise their patients to get the vaccine,” she stated.
Although they will not be using the vaccines in their private practices, a number of doctors have volunteered their services.
Reportedly, about 55 private doctors are helping to support the national vaccination programme within the polyclinic system.
According to Dr. Ferdinand, some members of the Barbados Association of Medical Practitioners (BAMP) were being trained to be part of the national vaccination effort.
MELISSA ROLLOCK — BGIS
