Basseterre, St. Kitts, January 28, 2021 (SKNIS): Abdias Samuel, Chairman of the National COVID-19 Task Force in St. Kitts & Nevis, said there is a need to begin the public education campaign on COVID-19 vaccinations in the country while indicating that he will lead by example in taking the jab.
Mr. Samuel welcomed the continued roll-out of vaccines designed to fight COVID-19 during Wednesday’s (January 27, 2021) National Emergency Operations Centre Weekly COVID-19 Briefing.
“We need to begin the campaign to educate persons that the vaccines are safe for us to take,” he said, during the briefing. “… We need to take the vaccine. For now, the vaccines and the non-pharmaceutical measures are the only things that will take us to a state of normalcy,” said Mr. Samuel
Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr. Hazel Laws, speaking also at the briefing, highlighted the three main COVID-19 vaccines that are being administered to populations around the world. These are the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, Moderna vaccine, and the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine.
Chairman Samuel encouraged persons to pay attention to the science and advice from credible experts and doctors rather than myths circulating online about the vaccines.
“I’m encouraging all to debunk all the negativity surrounding the vaccines, and let us prepare as a nation to take the vaccine when it comes and to support our health professionals in this regard,” he expressed.
It is expected that St. Kitts and Nevis will have access to the vaccines in the second quarter of 2021. The Federation has signed on to the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access Facility (COVAX) and will receive enough vaccines to cover 20 percent of the population in the initial stages.
CMO Laws and Medical Chief of Staff at the Joseph N. France General Hospital, Dr. Cameron Wilkinson, have stated that they are willing to take the jab publicly to help put resident’s minds at ease about the vaccine.
]]>Basseterre, St. Kitts, January 08, 2021 (SKNIS): Two senior health officials in St. Kitts and Nevis, who have been at the forefront of crafting the successful COVID-19 health and safety protocols, are prepared to take the lead in being inoculated when COVID-19 vaccines become available in the twin-island Federation.
On Wednesday, Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr. Hazel Laws and Medical Chief of Staff of the Joseph N. France General Hospital Dr. Cameron Wilkinson signalled that they are willing to take the jab publicly to reassure residents.
“I believe in the safety and efficacy of the vaccine and (when) the vaccine becomes available and if I am considered [to be] on the priority list, I will be happy to take it right here on this programme so that we can demonstrate to the entire nation that the vaccine is safe,” Dr. Wilkinson said on this week’s National Emergency Operations Centre COVID-19 Briefing on January 06, 2021.
CMO Laws supported Dr. Wilkinson’s stance noting, however, that she would avoid taking the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine due to her aggressive allergic reactions. Health professionals advise persons with severe allergic responses not to take the vaccine manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech.
Instead, she said that she will take “probably the Moderna or the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.”
As for the timeline when a vaccine may be made available for use in St. Kitts and Nevis, Dr. Laws estimated that it may be some time in the second quarter of 2021.
“Anywhere between April, May, June. That’s the projected timeline. However, once we are told specifically the date, the general public will be informed,” the CMO indicated.
St. Kitts and Nevis has signed on to the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access Facility (COVAX) and will receive enough vaccines to cover 20 percent of the population in the initial stages. The Republic of China (Taiwan) has also pledged financial assistance of US$600,000 to purchase vaccines for the twin-island Federation.
]]>Basseterre, St. Kitts, January 07, 2021 (SKNIS): The Republic of China (Taiwan) has pledged to assist St. Kitts and Nevis’ effort to procure additional COVID-19 vaccines once they become available under the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access Facility (COVAX).
Chief Medical Officer Dr. Hazel Laws, said that the pledge was made by Taiwan’s Resident Ambassador His Excellency Tom Lee during a visit to the Ministry of Health on Wednesday, January 06, 2021.
“The Republic of China (Taiwan) is making a very generous donation to the Federation of US$600,000 towards the procurement of vaccines,” Dr. Laws stated during the National Emergency Operations Centre COVID-19 Briefing on Wednesday.
She added that St. Kitts and Nevis previously made the required down payment to the COVAX arrangement to make available enough vaccines to cover 20 percent of the population in the initial stages.
Taiwan has been a reliable partner in St. Kitts and Nevis’ war against the novel coronavirus. The ROC previously made donations of personal protective equipment (PPE) to the government. These included ventilators, N-95 facemasks, thermal camera sets, forehead thermal guns, protective clothing, isolation gowns, and testing machines.
Several countries have given emergency approval to use vaccines against COVID-19 among their populations. Persons are receiving vaccines manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech as well as Moderna. The United Kingdom recently approved a vaccine manufactured by Oxford-AstraZeneca for emergency use by its population.
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