Software maintenance for vaccine digitalisation costly – Health Minister

…feasible options being considered

Information from the physical vaccination records have been converted into databases, marking the completion of one step in the digitalisation process. Authorities are now seeking a suitable software but have so far been hindered by high maintenance costs.

Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony communicated in Tuesday’s COVID-19 update that the digitalisation of vaccine records has been completed. It is a process that has been ongoing for many months, allowing for easier access and monitoring of the country’s coronavirus vaccination statistics.
“We are digitalising. The way we were collecting our data was a more manual format so a lot this data was in books. We have been digitalising that. We now have them in databases. We’re now working to get software that allows us to easily track if people get vaccinated or not.”
However, engagements with several companies thus far have raised a common issue – the high maintenance costs attached to the software. As of now, he said Government is trying to balance and find a feasible option.
“There were several discussions with different companies, different makers of software. Unfortunately, what we’re finding is that cost of maintaining the software is quite high. In some cases, it would cost us about $3 million per month. These are things that we’re trying to balance to see what would be the best option at this stage of the pandemic,” the Health Minister contended.
Adult vaccination statistics stand at 439,888 first doses or 85.8 per cent. Second doses are at 339,104 doses or 66.1 per cent. Booster doses account for 61,744. The World Health Organisation has recommended 70 per cent full coverage among nations, and Guyana is just a small gap from achieving this target.
Guyana is still in talks with Pfizer on the supply of vaccines for the five to 11 age cohort. Caricom is also making efforts to secure these vaccines for the region but there has been no concrete decision.
“Those discussions are still ongoing and we have not concluded anything as yet. Caricom is also in discussion with Pfizer and they’re hoping that they can have a negotiation on behalf of the Caribbean region. I know they’ve had initial meetings but nothing has concluded as yet.”
With the reopening of schools, Dr Anthony pointed towards adherence to safety protocols to protect students. These include mask-wearing and vaccination among the 12 to 17 age group.
“We would like to see a higher vaccination rate among the 12 to 17 age group. We’re still lagging behind in terms of those numbers,” he expressed.
Updated figures show 34,504 persons or 47.3 per cent of adolescents taking their first dose. Second doses are at 25,233 doses or 34.6 per cent.
“With the reopening of schools, it would give us an opportunity to meet more of the children. They’re coming back to school and getting letters to the parents so that we can get consent from the parents to be able to do the vaccination. I’m very hopeful that we can increase these numbers now that children are coming back to school,” the Minister asserted. (G12)