Young persons are being urged to get immunised after the COVID-19 vaccination campaign has been widened to now include persons 18 years and older.
The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) on Friday encouraged its members, local businesses, and the general public to commit to supporting the robust COVID-19 vaccination efforts of the Ministry of Health, given the unprecedented and devastating nature of the pandemic in the country.
“During the past year, the COVID-19 pandemic has had adverse effects on both lives and livelihoods. The pandemic affected business, our education system, changed how we work and interact with each other, and stretched our healthcare system to the limit. Getting our country back to health and reigniting our economy will require a large majority of our population to be safely vaccinated,” GCCI said in a statement.
A young person getting vaccinated at the Ministry of Health on Friday
According to the Chamber, the COVID-19 vaccination campaign would play a significant role in mitigating the pandemic’s economic, social, and health consequences in the year ahead.
The Ministry of Health announced on Thursday that, as of Friday, Guyanese who are 18 years and older are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
To this end, the GCCI strongly encourages all Guyanese within the eligible age group to visit the public vaccination sites in their communities and receive the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible.
“While we are hopeful for a return to normalcy in the near future, the GCCI takes this opportunity to remind the public and businesses that people in our communities are still at risk. People are still in hospitals, and the coronavirus has not yet been eradicated. Therefore, we must remain vigilant in protecting ourselves and each other by following public health measures to prevent the community spread of COVID-19, including physical distancing, hand hygiene, and the use of masks,” the Chamber has said.
Following the expansion of the vaccination, scores of young people turned up at the more than 100 vaccination sites across the country to get immunised, in order to protect themselves from getting the most severe form of the novel coronavirus.
Government rolled out its COVID-19 vaccination campaign in February, and has since immunised over 70,000 persons.
Guyana has thus far received 83,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine as donations from the Governments of Barbados (3,000) and India (80,000). Another 24,000 doses of the AstraZeneca jab were received from the COVAX facility, from which additional vaccines are expected next month. In addition, 20,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccine were donated by the Government of China.
To further boost this amount, the Dr Irfaan Ali-led Government purchased another 200,000 doses of the Sputnik V vaccine from Russia, of which Guyana has already received a total of 55,000 doses.
Another batch of some 83,000 doses of the Russian-made jab is expected to arrive early next week.
Apart from these, the Guyana Government is in talks with other manufacturers of COVID-19 vaccines, including Pfizer and Moderna in the United States, as well as the Indian manufacturers of COVAXIN.
Government is hoping to have the entire adult population in Guyana inoculated, in order to reach herd immunity.
Currently, the country is experiencing a rise in the number of COVID-19 cases, and the death toll has been experiencing a concomitant rise. Local authorities continue to battle with this new wave of the novel coronavirus, which is seeing young people contracting the disease and infected persons becoming sicker, thus requiring hospitalisation.
Health authorities are reminding all Guyanese to observe the protocols of the COVID-19 EMERGENCY MEASURES (NO.16), which were extended for this month, and will be in effect until April 30, 2021.
Among these measures is the 22:30h (10pm) to 04:00h (4am) national curfew, which remains intact. Restaurants and places of worship continue to operate at 40 per cent capacity. Gyms are to operate at 50 per cent capacity, while sporting events are permitted only with approval from the Health Minister.
The order further emphasises the need for correct and consistent use of a face mask when leaving home; the importance of maintaining the six-foot physical distance from others, and the need for good hand-hygiene to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.
