We have in hand the solution for what ails usHealth minister notes govt seeking to procure more vaccines, including from Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson<\/p>\n
NASSAU, BAHAMAS Just over 10,000 people have been vaccinated in The Bahamas to date, according to Minister of Health Renward Wells.<\/p>\n
The country received 33,600 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine through the World Health Organization (WHO)\/Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) COVAX Facility, last week, shoring up the nations supplies since it received 20,000 doses as a donation from India last month.<\/p>\n
Wells said with the additional vaccines in-country, Bahamians are urged to continue to register to take it.<\/p>\n
We are around 10,000 persons having been vaccinated, he said.<\/p>\n
We have 53,600 doses of the vaccine and we are looking to get all of that into circulation.<\/p>\n
The health minister noted that people have been signing up en masse and even calling him over the lack of appointments until May.<\/p>\n
He said officials are looking to open additional vaccination sites to make sure that everyone who wants to be vaccinated can be and to combat potential further increases of COVID-19 cases.<\/p>\n
While vaccinations were suspended over the holiday weekend, they are set to resume on New Providence and Grand Bahama today.<\/p>\n
Doses of vaccines have begun to be administered on Eleuthera, and Abaco and Bimini are expected to begin inoculations this week.<\/p>\n
Wells advised that to date, there has been no evidence of new strains of COVID-19 in the country from the 30 viable samples sent away to be tested earlier this year.<\/p>\n
He noted that additional samples will be sent to a lab in Trinidad with a two-week turnaround time, to get a better sense as to whether there is a variant.<\/p>\n
He added, however, that vaccines including Pfizer, Moderna and others have been proven effective against the variants as well.<\/p>\n
We have in hand the solution for what ails us that is the vaccine, he said.<\/p>\n
While he could not give a timeline, Wells said the government is seeking to secure additional types of vaccines, including the Johnson and Johnson one-jab vaccine.<\/p>\n
He added: We are going to have our ultra-low-temperature storage refrigerator in-country at the beginning of May, which is in about a month, so we will be able to bring Pfizer in-country if we need to.<\/p>\n
But we also have facilities in-country now where we can store Pfizer if we were able to access it.<\/p>\n
Healthcare workers, residents over 60 and staff of the uniformed branches are currently eligible to take the vaccine.<\/p>\n
The prime minister has said those with disabilities, teachers and hospitality workers will become the next eligible groups to receive the vaccine.<\/p>\n
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ON THE BANDWAGON: More than 10K people in The Bahamas vaccinated against COVID so far - EyeWitness News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We have in hand the solution for what ails usHealth minister notes govt seeking to procure more vaccines, including from Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson NASSAU, BAHAMAS Just over 10,000 people have been vaccinated in The Bahamas to date, according to Minister of Health Renward Wells. Continue reading