Health Minister Irving McIntyre has announced that Dominica received 28,800 doses of COVID-19 vaccines from the COVAX facility on Wednesday. He stated that the vaccines are listed for emergency use and safe for everyone.
The Skerrit-led administration had urged all Dominicans to receive the shots since this will protect individuals and entire communities. The objective of the government is to get at least 70% of the population vaccinated so that herd immunity can be achieved. The Ministry of Health however warned that getting the vaccination should not prompt anyone to let down their guards, but people must continue to observe safety and health protocols to eliminate the pandemic.
The government has however not mandated everyone to get the shot; the DLP administration made it voluntary. The health ministry continues to sensitize the population on the benefits of getting vaccinated and the need to protect the entire country. No COVID-19 death has been recorded in Dominica and the government intends to keep it that way until the pandemic becomes history in the world.
COVAX plans to supply enough vaccines to inoculate at least 20% of the population of member countries, and the vaccine supply will come in batches. The first vaccine allocation is targeted to inoculate up to 3% of the population while subsequent batches will come later as they become available.
But due to the logistics of delivering the required number of vaccines to small island nations, COVAX plans to deliver sufficient quantities to cover 16% to 20% the population figures of the island states. It is expected that the whole of the Caribbean will be vaccinated and protected from the scourge of the pandemic.
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