75% Police Officers received 1st dose of COVID-19 vaccine

…32% fully vaccinated

Police Commissioner Nigel Hoppie has revealed that at least 75 per cent of his officers have received the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while about 32 per cent of them are fully immunised against the virus.

The Commissioner made the revelation on Wednesday during a press conference.
For weeks, the Police Force has been dodging the question as to the number of ranks that have taken the vaccine.
Police Commissioner Hoppie explained that the numbers were reflective of the statistics as at last week. He said the statistics have since changed as the ranks are taking the vaccines daily. He added that the Force continues to encourage its ranks to take the vaccine.
Last week, the Guyana Defence Force announced that 90 per cent of the its ranks had received a first dose vaccine, and 43 per cent have already returned for their second dose. In addition, the Guyana Prison Service had revealed that almost 60 per cent of officers and staff have been completely immunised.
Based on the prison population, figures highlight that more than 50 per cent of inmates have received a COVID-19 vaccine.

The Prison Service has said that a weekly vaccination drive is organised at each penitentiary in collaboration with the Health Ministry.
Owing to limited space in the prison system, which often leads to overcrowding, prisoners have tested positive for the virus in the past. But with vaccination now available, they have another layer of protection.
Government has been lobbying for all Guyanese, especially those on the frontline, to be vaccinated in light of the new and deadlier Delta variant of the virus. Moreover, it would take the country closer to herd immunity, pegged at about 85 per cent of the population.
So far, 339,206 adults have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, which represents 66.1 per cent of the adult population; while 175,848 persons, or 34.3 per cent of the adult population, have been fully immunised.
For children within the age range of 12 and 17, a total of 19,131 have received their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
There are some 80,000 persons waiting on the second dose of the Russia-manufactured Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine, Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony said during his daily COVID-19 update on Tuesday.
Guyana has been experiencing significant delays with the supply of the second dose of the Sputnik V vaccine – a situation that creates much confusion and frustration for persons who have already received their first dose. When the limited supplies of Sputnik V second dose vaccines arrive in the country, there is a mad rush to access them, resulting in many persons who are due for their second dose missing the deadline as stipulated in their vaccination cards.
The Sputnik V vaccine, unlike AstraZeneca and Sinopharm, has a second dose that is different from the first dose.
At first, the country was administering the second shot within four weeks of the first dose, but this period has now been extended to 12 weeks. Dr Anthony had said that this extension is in keeping with information provided by the Gamaleya Research Centre which developed the Sputnik V vaccine.
Meanwhile, the Minister explained that there is also a significant gap in the number of persons who have received their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine and those who are fully immunised. He said there are about 30,000 persons who are currently eligible for their second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine. (G2)