PMH official believes significant number of healthcare workers will be vaccinated

Dr. Caroline Burnett-Garraway, medical chief of staff at Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH), said a study conducted across public healthcare institutions earlier this year showed about 40 percent of healthcare workers were prepared to take the COVID-19 vaccine, but she expects that number has grown.

“This was a few months ago. So, now that we have more information on the safety and efficacy of the vaccines, the uptake that we’re expecting is going to be very good,” she told reporters at the official rollout of the COVID-19 vaccination effort at PMH yesterday.

She did not offer any other information on the study.

When asked about responses from police officers, who are among the priority groups for vaccination, Burnett-Garraway replied, “I don’t have any information on the police but we’re certainly going to encourage them and continue with the campaign for them to get it as well because they’re obviously high risk.” 

Last week, the Indian government donated 20,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to The Bahamas. 

Yesterday marked the official start of The Bahamas’ COVID-19 vaccine rollout.

The rollout was launched at PMH.

PMH Administrator Mary Walker said the rollout will start at the Sandilands Rehabilitation Center on Friday and at Grand Bahama Health Services on Monday.

Healthcare workers and uniformed branch workers will be vaccinated during the first phase of the rollout.

Walker said it’s “very important” to start the vaccination campaign with frontline workers.

“They are the persons who have been in this fight from the get-go,” she said.

“These are the persons who are faced with that risk and that challenge on a daily basis and it gives them the assurance that they can continue to provide the required healthcare for persons, but also having that assurance that they have the ability — and their bodies will now have the ability — to be protected.

“We are assured that this vaccine will make sure that persons do not get the severe form of the disease should they be exposed. And so, yes, it still means that we have to take care of ourselves with hand-washing, wearing the masks and social distancing until such time that we have herd immunity in numbers in our population.”

The post PMH official believes significant number of healthcare workers will be vaccinated appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.

source https://thenassauguardian.com/pmh-official-believes-significant-number-of-healthcare-workers-will-be-vaccinated/