NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Consultant Physicians Staff Association (CPSA) President Sabriquet Pinder-Butler said yesterday the acquisition of pediatric vaccines and the COVID-19 pill would be “very helpful” in the fight against COVID.
Her comments come as the government continues to source pediatric Pfizer vaccines from the international market, just weeks ahead of thousands of students returning to a hybrid model including face-to-face learning in classrooms.
“Certainly, if they’re doing as well as they say they are and expected to do, I think that would actually help us move in the right direction and perhaps it would also help with persons who are still hesitant with becoming vaccinated,” Pinder-Butler told Eyewitness News.
“I am looking to see how they would work as well because, again, this is year two and some experts have been talking about 2023 — somewhere around there — and then us living with COVID in general, so I think all of those things are very important for us and would be helpful.”
The lower-dose vaccine for children has been found to generate a “robust” antibody response in children ages five through 11.
The Bahamas has sought to acquire the vaccine, but sourcing it has been challenging due to global demand, according to government officials.
There has been widespread concern among parents and educators about the learning gap being created by thousands of students either failing to participate in virtual learning or having sporadic attendance on the learning platform.
The Ministry of Education has been finalizing preparations for schools to begin hybrid learning come the second week of the New Year, though some are not expected to be ready until Easter Break.
It remains to be seen what percentage of students, if the vaccine becomes available to them in time, will become vaccinated ahead of heading back to classrooms.
I think all of those things are very important for us and would be helpful.
– CPSA President Dr Sabriquet Pinder-Butler
For those who choose to remain unvaccinated, Molnupiravir, Merk’s COVID pill, may remain an option to reduce the chance of hospitalization and death from the virus by between 30 percent and 50 percent.
But the drug has yet to receive emergency use authorization by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
An FDA committee in late November voted to recommend the drug candidate’s emergency approval.
Press Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister Clint Watson said: “We’re expecting to have them by the end of the year. That’s our target and we hope these new medications will be here within that period.”
Late last month, Director of the National HIV/AIDS and Infectious Disease Programme Dr Nikkiah Forbes said the prospect of COVID antiviral pills being approved for use and made available for the “global public health good” is “wonderful news” in the fight against the ongoing pandemic.
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