Wells: Either way, “folks just need to get vaccinated”
NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The government could receive 100,000 doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, according to Minister of Health Renward Wells.
The government announced last week it was “urgently” seeking access to Pfizer, the only approved COVID-19 vaccine for use among children above the age of 12, due to an increasing percentage of adolescents in The Bahamas contracting the virus.
Pfizer is a two-dose vaccine.
Yesterday, in the gallery of the House of Assembly, Wells told Eyewitness News: “We’re working on getting Pfizer.
“We might be able to get 100,000 doses. We’re working on it.”
Asked about the time frame of the delivery, Wells indicated that the government was awaiting a quote, and upon receipt of the figures, doses could be expected in-country within weeks.
Variants
Wells said it remains unclear which COVID variants exist in The Bahamas.
Results from the samples sent abroad to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) laboratory in Trinidad have not returned to date.
The minister said the genomic sequencing required to determine variant strains of the virus can take some time.
He said the time frame could be further impacted because other countries in the Caribbean and elsewhere have also sought to use CARPHA.
“Unless you’re the United States or Europe that has your own lab, running your samples and you can prioritize whatever samples it is you want, we don’t have that luxury.
“So, we have to just wait.”
He continued: “The most virulent variant out there is the Indian variant and we know from public health [in] England that the AstraZeneca vaccine, after you’ve received your second dose, it is 60 percent effective against the Indian variant.
“It is 80 percent effective against the UK variant and other variants…South African and Brazil.”
The variants Wells named pose the greatest concern to The Bahamas, with the Indian strain at the top of the list.
“We have the solution for what ails us,” Wells said.
“So, whatever variant it is that we find in country, folks just need to get vaccinated.”
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