‘LESS THAN IDEAL’: 5,000-plus people vaccinated abroad can’t get booster shots

Vaccine consultative committee asking those impacted to be patient as it “diligently” works to correct the problem

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — A required update of the vaccine registration platform is preventing more than 5,000 people who got vaccinated abroad from getting their booster shots in The Bahamas.

However, it is hoped the system will be updated before the end of the month, according to COVID-19 Vaccine Consultative Committee member Dr Danny Davis.

There has been an increased desire for booster shots amid the threat of omicron, a more transmissible variant of COVID-19 that is spreading throughout the globe.

According to the latest COVID-19 vaccination dashboard, a total of 5,574 people got vaccinated abroad and would be affected should they seek to get a booster shot.

When contacted, Davis told Eyewitness News the matter was discovered last week but the committee hopes the challenge will be short-lived.

“We’re hoping to have it rectified before the end of the month,” he said.

“We definitely don’t want to go into the new year with this issue.

“What’s happening here is we have created the registry for those persons, but the system right now isn’t currently configured so that their booster reflects properly in the system.

“If we were to give them a shot right now, they end up being registered as a first dose, which means we end up counting them in the foreign registry and we count them as a first dose, and we can’t double count.

“We are making the software modifications to ensure we properly handle those persons who got either one or two doses abroad, and, like I said, before the end of the month, we definitely will hope to make an announcement to all and sundry that those individuals can come in.

“…Yes, at this point we have been asking those persons to be patient and we have actually not given them the booster shot this week because we realized this problem, and so, basically, we’re really hoping that in the coming days we will be able to rectify this.”

Davis said software updates of this nature tend to take a “little longer than we expect, but we are diligently working to correct it”.

Jasmine Smith, whose name has been changed at her request, claimed she attempted to get her booster shot three times this week, visiting the Mall at Marathon and Doctor’s Hospital vaccinations sites, but was advised that she could not be registered for the booster at this time.

I find this redundant and backward, which is synonymous with The Bahamas.

– Jasmine Smith

“It is the same response — that they cannot find my information in their Ministry of Health system, which is asinine because I registered with them; I showed them the proof of the email from the vax.gov.bs saying I have been successfully registered and my foreign vaccination is approved,” she said.

“So, how is it not in the system and how is it they cannot accept or receive the email proof of my registration?

“I find this redundant and backward, which is synonymous with The Bahamas.

“This is the third time…and they said their hands are tied because they have to follow the protocol of whatever [is in] the system.”

Vaccine mandate

In the case of Smith, Davis said the fact that she was reportedly turned away more than once is “not comforting because that means that they didn’t get the first message that says ‘hold on and just be patient…with us’”.

“We want them to come out and get those shots, so you can imagine that us…asking them to wait now is not consistent with our mandate,” he said.

“Our mission here is to get people vaccinated. So, asking someone to go away and come back is not consistent with the mission, but we understand that’s something that is necessary at this point, and it will be short-lived.”

Davis said vaccination center teams have been asked to advise booster-seekers who received their vaccinations abroad of the challenge and to be patient with the committee.

He said public notices will be released to advise on when those individuals can receive their booster.

More than 153,000 people have been fully vaccinated in The Bahamas.

While it remains to be determined if omicron has arrived in The Bahamas, with more than 100 samples sent abroad for testing, new cases of COVID have more than doubled in the last week.

There were 19 cases last week Sunday; 24 last Monday; 21 last Tuesday; 24 last Wednesday; 39 last Thursday; 37 last Friday; and 41 on Saturday.