#TheBahamas, February 3, 2021 – Right around Valentine’s is when The Bahamas should begin receiving its first allotment of the Covid-19 vaccine; but the latest data on the brand poised for delivery to The Bahamas – Oxford/AstraZeneca – is recommended for only people under 65-years of age.
A statement from the Ministry of Health in
The Bahamas explained: “COVAX, a coalition led by the World Health Organization
(WHO) and Gavi (Vaccine Alliance), informed Bahamian health authorities that
The Bahamas could receive 100,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, starting
the second half of February through the second quarter of 2021.”
The dispatch is enough for 40,000 residents
of The Bahamas and the plan is to get frontline health care workers that shot
in the arm first. Experts say the jab will
arm them against the potential ravages of Covid19 which has killed 176 people
across the archipelago.
As many as 72 health care workers in The
Bahamas had been infected with the coronavirus up to September 2020; there have
also been a concerning number of deaths of medical staff to the contagion.
The Bahamas Government was among the
countries which committed $2 million for enough vaccines to inoculate around 20
percent of the population. In January,
the Vaccination Strategy was unveiled.
Now, the WHO’s consortium has come through
it seems, for The Bahamas, home to 400,000 people.
“The Government of The Bahamas has received
formal notification from COVAX of the estimated COVID-19 vaccine dose
allocation for the first phase of delivery to The Bahamas. The AstraZeneca
vaccine has received Emergency Use Listing (EUL) approval from WHO.”
The announcement comes amidst growing
skepticism about taking any of the vaccines and just as France discourages the
double-dose vaccine from being administered to anyone under 65-year- old,
citing a lack of research to support effectiveness.
Still, the Oxford/Astrazeneca vaccine is
approved by the EU and has an efficacy of 76 percent without the second booster
shot; people are protected from 22 days after the jab. The effectiveness of this brand increases to
82.4 percent once patients have had the second jab. The shots should be within three months.
Bahamians will learn more when the National
COVID-19 Vaccine Consultative Committee holds a press conference on Thursday 4
February 2021 at 5pm.
The Covid-19 vaccine is not mandatory in
The Bahamas.