#TurksandCaicos, March 19, 2021 – The Turks and Caicos Islands continues to successfully roll out its COVID-19 vaccination program which is a key component of its plan to mitigate the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
The Turks and Caicos Islands
received its first batch of Pfizer BionTech COVID-19 vaccines compliments of
Her Majesty’s Government on Thursday, January 7th, 2021, with a second batch
having arrived on Wednesday, February 25th, 2021.
As of Sunday, March 14, 2021 a
total of 11,283 persons in the Turks and Caicos Islands had received their
first doses of the Pfizer BionTech COVID-19 vaccine thus far.
This included: 9416
persons on the island of Providenciales; 1,181 on the island of Grand Turk; 264
on the island of South Caicos; 201 on the island of Parrot Cay; 181 on the
islands of North and Middle Caicos and 40 persons on the island of Salt Cay.
Based on data from the Turks
and Caicos Islands Statistics Department which estimates a population of 45,542
persons resident in the islands in 2020; 32% of the estimated adult population
of approximately 35,000 persons have been vaccinated in the islands thus far.
Commenting on the continued
success of the program Deputy Governor and Co-Chair of the TCI COVID-19
Vaccination Oversight Steering Committee Her Excellency Anya Williams stated; “Sixty
days since officially launching our COVID-19 vaccination program on January 11,
2021, we are pleased to report that over 30% of our population have been
vaccinated thus far.
The UK has committed to
providing the TCI with enough doses to vaccinate our entire population should
there be a demand to do so.
We continue to administer the
vaccine free of charge to all residents through our primary healthcare clinic
as well as the 5 private medical practices here on island.
We also recently launched an
at-home vaccination program for elderly bedridden persons across the islands
and in the weeks ahead will also be implementing drive-through and community
vaccination clinics to reach a wider proportion of our population.
As we continue our response to
the global COVID-19 pandemic here in these islands,
increased testing, appropriate
isolation and increased vaccinations will continue to be our major priorities.
The Turks and Caicos Islands
are currently administering the Pfizer BionTech COVID-19 vaccine which has an
efficacy rate of 95%.
We have also made arrangements
with the United Kingdom to receive a small batch of the Astra Zeneca COVID-19
vaccine for persons that consider this vaccine as their preference.
We continue to encourage
persons to familiarize themselves with the vaccine
to obtain the information that
is necessary to allow them to make informed decisions.
We express our profound thanks
to our healthcare workers for the work that they do every day in helping to
keep us safe and healthy here in the Turks and Caicos Islands and we continue
to encourage all residents that can to seriously consider being vaccinated as
it is one of our greatest defenses!”