EDITOR’S NOTE: Towards the end of April, #HealthCaribbean featured the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines in the Caribbean in our edition 2021-04-29. Following from that, this newsletter looks at measures the Caribbean is taking to secure further doses of vaccine. Two countries are covered, namely: Dominica and Barbados; and two organizations: CARICOM and PAHO.
Our headline, taken from NationNews Barbados, reads: “Rowley, US Officials Discuss COVID Vaccine Redistribution”. Trinidad’s Prime Minister — Dr. Keith Rowley — in his capacity as sitting chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), has met with senior White House officials and discussed the need to equitably distribute vaccines.
CARICOM has also made arrangements to buy vaccine from the African Union’s African Medical Supplies Platform through an initiative led by South Africa. Meanwhile, The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has been calling on countries with excess supply of COVID-19 vaccines to donate a “significant portion” to the Americas.
Facing widescale refusal of COVID-19 vaccines provided by the U.K., the government of the British Virgin Islands is considering donating those vaccines to neighbouring Dominica, which had requested them. Otherwise, Barbados Prime Minister — Mia Mottley — has announced that a national vaccine fund will be started shortly to secure the next batch of COVID-19 vaccines.
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