175,000 Oxford Astra-Zeneca doses dispatched from India to Caribbean  

India: The Indian government on Saturday dispatched 175,000 Oxford Astra-Zeneca vaccine doses to 5 Caribbean countries vaccine, including four under the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). According to the Indian Government, Gurdip Dev Bath, A special representative of St Kitts and Nevis, has been given the authority to dispatch and handling of the coronavirus vaccine arriving from India.

Sources said that in the first phase of vaccine distribution to two Caribbean countries, Dominica and Barbados, Bath efficiently managed the safe and secure delivery of Vaccines which helped almost all the OECS countries to immunize their frontline workers.

The vaccines are scheduled to reach from Mumbai to Antigua and Barbuda, further arrangements for transportation have been made to deliver the vaccine to respective countries. According to External Ministry sources, St Lucia will receive 25,000 jabs of Covishield vaccine and St Kitts and Nevis 20,000, St Vincent and the Grenadines 40,000, Antigua and Barbuda 40,000, Republic of Suriname 50,000 respectively. The successful acquisition of vaccine from India is credited to Prime Minister of Dominica and Chairman of OECS, Roosevelt Skerrit, as his superlative relationship with India has accumulated the vaccine for the whole of the OECS countries to tackle the global pandemic. As the OECS chairman, Roosevelt Skerrit had written to the Indian government seeking vaccines for respective countries to safeguard their frontline workers and other vulnerable community in the country.

Bath has played a pivotal role in arranging vaccines from India; he utilized his bilateral relations to facilitate these small Caribbean countries in immunizing their frontline workers and the general public as a whole in a fight against COVID-19.

Recently, The Commonwealth of Dominica and Barbados had received around 70,000 and 100,000 Covishield doses from India, respectively. There are approximately 92 other countries seeking assistance from India to manage vaccines against COVID-19, yet India, which is currently among the world’s top vaccine producers. The kind-hearted government has decided to help those in need, preferably immunize people among the frontline warriors.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Business and Diaspora Relations of Dominica requested the Government of India to secure additional Covid-19 vaccine doses for their sister countries, more specifically those under the OECS inter-governmental organization.

According to the sources, Oxford vaccines have left from Mumbai in Hawker 850 XP aircraft, and it would reach Antigua and Barbuda by Monday morning. Apart from This, the government of Dominica has successfully vaccinated over 5000 Dominicans to date and the number is rising by each day.