24,000 doses of vaccine reaches Antigua and Barbuda from COVAX facility

Antigua and Barbuda on Thursday morning received 24,000 doses of Astrazeneca coronavirus vaccines from the COVAX facility. The doses arrived in a cargo aeroplane at the V. C. Bird International Airport.

The vaccines received by Antigua and Barbuda from the COVAX facility are Astrazeneca doses manufactured by SK Bioscience South Korea.

Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda Gaston Brown stated that the 24,000 Astrazeneca vaccines would help the country inoculate the residents and citizens.

"Achieving national immunity is essential to return to normalcy", added PM Browne.

Besides this, he stated that getting vaccinated is not simply a personal decision, but it is a decision in the national interest to get immunized.

Prime Minister urged all the eligible citizens to come forward and get the vaccine shots. He added that Antigua and Barbuda anticipate receiving a total of 41,000 vaccines from the COVAX facility while previously 40,000 doses had been received from the Indian government.

He added that 20,000 doses of vaccine from the People's Republic of China are expected to be received in a week. Besides this, 1000 doses from Russia will arrive on Saturday on British Airways, while another 1000 would be received two weeks later.

Prime Minister also noted that the Russian and Chinese vaccines are also effective in protecting against the virus.

COVAX Facility is a global venture between the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance Gavi, UNICEF, the PAHO and the WHO.

The arrival ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Gaston BrownLindsy Thompson and Consuls General, Chief Medical Officer Dr Rhonda Sealey-Thomas and Permanent Secretary Ena Henry, Molwyn Joseph & E. P. Chet Greene.

Antigua and Barbuda, just like other Caribbean countries, rely's on the tourism sector. To boost the tourism sector, it is eminent for people to come forward to take the vaccine.