Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit has expressed optimism that COVID-19 vaccines will become available to Dominicans by the end of March 2021. Skerrit said this is the general consensus of CARICOM heads of government after a virtual Tuesday conference. He also disclosed that his administration has been collaborating with PAHO to make the vaccines available in the country in record time.
Given the controversy surrounding the safety and effectiveness of the vaccines, Skerrit said the government will be embarking on a sensitization programme to educate the people on the need to be vaccinated. He said PAHO and CARPHA will also be rolling out various educational campaigns to educate people on the necessity for receiving the vaccines.
Apart from the fact that coronavirus vaccines confer protection against the pandemic, travellers into major countries of the world will no longer be granted access without proof of vaccination, Skerrit said. Countries like the United States and the United Kingdom among others have begun to demand for proofs of vaccination and negative PCR tests before admitting travellers to their countries. Skerrit said Dominicans must receive the vaccinations so that they can travel to these countries without any restrictions.
Similarly, Dominican travellers to the UK have been allowed until Monday, January 18, to enter the country without a negative COVID-19 test. This is against the background that the UK government mandated all travellers to the country to present a negative COVID-19 test evidence as from Friday, January 15, before they can be allowed to enter England.
However, travellers from Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines who are outbound for the UK have been given a grace period of up till Monday, January 18 to enter the UK without proofs of negative coronavirus tests. Travellers from Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, and St. Lucia have been given till Thursday, January 21, to England without a negative COVID-19 test.
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