Jamaica welcomes first shipment of Pfizer COVID vaccines from France

Jamaica: The country has welcomed the Pfizer vaccine shipment by the Republic of France on February 8, 2022. It was the first-ever shipment received by Jamaica.

According to the Health Ministry, the nation will receive the order in two tranches under the COVAX facility. The total number of vaccine doses is nearly 650,000.

“Yesterday, Jamaica welcomed its first shipment of Pfizer vaccines from the Republic of France. The vaccines procured under the COVAX facility will arrive in two tranches totalling 650,000 doses", informed PAHO WHO Caribbean.

The first tranche of the vaccine doses was received with the help of a charter flight, which landed at the Norman Manley International Airport (NMIA), Kingston.

The handover ceremony was held at the NMIA; its attendees were Dr Christopher Tufton, the health and wellness minister of Jamaica, and Ambassador of the French Republic at Jamaica, His Excellency Olivier Guyonvarch.

During the ceremony, the state minister in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and trade, Leslie Campbell, offered thanks to the government of France for the vaccine donation.

Campbell further emphasized that this will help in strengthening the bilateral relationship between France and Jamaica.

He also praised the government of France for its contribution of around 75 million COVID vaccine doses, of which 47.7 million have been delivered to countries across the globe. He also notified that by mid-2022, the French government has been planning to deliver around 120 million vaccine doses to the developing countries.

While concluding the ceremony, Campbell praised Guyonvarch for his contribution and support towards Jamaica’s health sector.

As of February 8, the total confirmed cases in the country were around 126,222, and the recoveries were nearly 71,623. Since the pandemic has begun, Jamaica has reported 2,698 deaths.

On Tuesday, the nation reported 128 new COVID cases and a death in 24 hours, according to statics by the government.