US donates 52,800 COVID-19 vaccines towards paediatric immunisation

Coronavirus vaccines for the paediatric age category have been replenished, after the United States Government on Tuesday handed over 52,800 Pfizer doses to the Health Ministry.

To date, the total number of vaccines donated by the United States is 354,660. The US Government has made a pledge to donate as many vaccines as possible to immunise and boost Guyana’s population.
The paediatric doses, donated through COVAX, are intended for children aged 5–11, and will further strengthen Guyana’s COVID-19 vaccination programme.
Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony expressed that the country was in need of paediatric shots, having used up its supply last month.
“At the end of July, all of our paediatric vaccines came to an end and we were really out of vaccines. This was really a timely donation so that we can restart our paediatric programme. We had to pause it for a few days and it just came in at the right moment so that we can restart that programme.”
Over 6000 children between the ages of four and 11 years have been vaccinated. Dr Anthony pointed out that they are also returning for the second doses. Especially in the hinterland communities, there has been a high uptake of these vaccines.
“What is very interesting is that in some of the interior areas, like Region Nine, there have been really good uptake of these children vaccines. We have seen a lot of children coming out, getting vaccines and perhaps, it’s the way the communities are organised that children would take the vaccines. I’m very hopeful that we can get other communities replicating that type of behaviour where the community encourages children to get the vaccine.”
The Health Minister opined that many persons are operating in a complacent manner, despite awareness on the dangers brought on by current strains.
“I think for a lot of people, they believe that COVID is over and people have been very complacent. We do have one of the more contagious strains of the Omicron virus that is circulating, the BA.5, and with that, even if you had a previous infection, you can get reinfected. We’re still not out of the woods,” Dr Anthony relayed.
A drop in both primary and booster doses among adults has also been detected. It is recommended that persons take a booster dose every six months to upkeep their protection from COVID-19.
“Vaccine hesitancy has been a problem in some communities and through USAID, we’ve had a programme where we have been educating both our staff and community members to try to reduce vaccine hesitancy. All of these things in combination should help us to get better uptake.”
In handing over the donation, Chargé d’Affaires Adrienne Galanek noted, “We remain steadfast in our commitment to expand access to COVID-19 vaccines and help save lives.”
The United States has already provided more than 550 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to more than 115 countries, part of a commitment to donate 1.2 billion doses worldwide.