At current pace, it could take just over four months for herd immunity
NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Minister of Tourism Dionisio D’Aguilar said while he does not believe the timing of The Bahamas’ vaccination program rollout will make a material difference on visitors returning to the nation, the uptake of residents receiving the jab when more supplies arrive could.
Numerous eastern Caribbean countries began administering vaccines since mid-February.
“The critical issue is not so much when we are going to get the vaccines; it is when we receive the vaccines, are people going to get vaccinated?” D’Aguilar asked in an interview with Eyewitness News.
“That’s the issue. You can get all the supplies you want, but if people are not minded to get vaccinated and we need to get to 70 percent, 80 percent to therefore cause herd immunity to kick in…
“I think our issue is there is a lot of fake news going around and all sort of assertion about what the vaccine does and all these conspiracy theories playing to the minds of the population.”
He continued: “I am of the view that most countries will probably be vaccinated within a month or so of each other.
“Will that really translate into a material difference in the return of visitors?
“Once the United States gets to the 1st of May and they start to make it available, I am sure there will be a flood of supply on the market.
“Right now, there is just a supply problem. It is difficult to secure supply.
“And of course, the British territories in the Caribbean have leveraged the relationships with the United Kingdom to enhance their supply.
“So, countries that are not connected to a colonial power are not able to leverage that relationship, but I think the United States is going to make it widely available on the 1st of May, but they’re not tending to have their population completed until the latter part of the year or certainly up to 80 percent.”
The US, one of The Bahamas’ key tourism markets, has vaccinated more than 127 million people, with the average doses administered per day increasing to 2.49 million in the last week.
Across the globe, 458 million doses have been administered across 134 countries.
In The Bahamas, more than 1,500 people have been provided the first dose of the Oxford AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
The nation received 20,000 doses as a donation from India more than a week ago.
The country’s vaccination program rolled out last week Sunday and has been expanded twice since its trial run.
According to National COVID-19 Vaccine Consultative Committee Deputy Chair Ed Fields, 2,500 vaccine doses can be administered per day once supply is shored up.
At this pace, it could take just over four months, once supplies are maintained and residents step forward for the jab, to vaccinate 320,000 people — 80 percent of the population needed for herd immunity.
Another 33,600 doses of AstraZeneca are expected to arrive through the COVAX Facility before the end of March.
The Bahamas is expected to secure more than 100,000 doses. The government has maintained vaccination will be voluntary.
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