Jamaica receives 50,000 doses of vaccine from India

Jamaica received over 50,000 doses of Oxford Astrazeneca COVID-19 vaccine from India on Monday afternoon. The vaccines arrived at the Norman International Airport. Prime Minister Andrew Holness attended the arrival ceremony of the vaccine. He was joined by the Minister of health and wellness, Dr. Christopher Tufton. Besides this, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Senator Kamina Johnson Smith was also present. The vaccines reached Jamaica, and many other Caribbean countries such as St Kitts and Nevis, Dominica, St Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua and Barbuda with the strong diplomatic ties and efforts of Gurdip Dev Bath, special representative of St Kitts and Nevis

The Indian High Commissioner Rungsung Masakui also addressed Jamaicans at the arrival ceremony.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness expressed his gratitude to the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and the people of his country.

The vaccine, locally known as the COVISHIELD vaccine is developed in Inda by the Oxford University and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca. The vaccine is largely known as the Oxford Astrazeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

The manufacturing of the vaccine is being done at the Indian Serum Institute, which is the largest producer of all types of vaccines in the world.

Over 250 million people across the world have already received this vaccine, and no harmful reactions were recorded globally.

Earlier, India had assisted the Commonwealth of Dominica, St Kitts, and Nevis, St Lucia, Antigua, and Barbuda, Suriname, with the coronavirus vaccine. In total, over 1,75,000 vaccine doses. These doses are being distributed free and are sufficient for Jamaica to initiate its immunizations to protect the front-line workers from the harmful coronavirus.

These vaccines are distributed under India's Maitri initiative, which aims to help other countries in their fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar also stated that India takes care Of its Caribbean friends.

Jamaica recorded 26,904 cases of the contagious coronavirus with 454 virus-related deaths.

Recently, the health ministry of Jamaica had announced to immunise the frontline workers on priority basis once the vaccine becomes available. The list further aims at vaccinating its vulnerable people and people with comorbidities.