UPDATE ON PROGRESS TOWARD ACHIEVING HERD IMMUNITY

Report filed by Jessica Russell – News Reporter.

A decision will be made in coming weeks whether to pause vaccination to ensure second doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine are available to those who have been receiving their first dose.

The country has so far received donations of 5 thousand doses from Dominica and 40 thousand from India.
It has in turn donated 5 thousand doses to Grenada, meaning it has been administering doses from 40 thousand doses, which can vaccinate 20 thousand people with two doses.
Information Minister Melford Nicholas says a decision will be made taking into account a timeline for additional vaccines to arrive.

The Astrazeneca vaccine is a two-dose regimen administered twelve weeks apart.
Minister Nicholas says the Chief Medical Officer is hoping to get confirmation from the World Health Organization’s COVAX Facility on more vaccines by the end of the month.

The country is hoping to vaccinate at least 80- thousand people to achieve herd immunity.