Former govt ‘forgot’ to order more vaccines

The arrival of additional COVID-19 vaccines was delayed because someone under the previous administration forgot to apply for them, according to Minister of Health and Wellness Dr. Michael Darville, who yesterday added that more doses of the Pfizer vaccine are en route to The Bahamas.

“The vaccines are on track,” Darville said outside Cabinet.

“We have a supply of Pfizer that is en route. I was fortunate enough to have good news that the vaccines donated by the United States government, the Pfizer vaccines, are right behind.”

He said the Davis administration is doing “extremely well” at securing vaccines for The Bahamas, which is still grappling with its third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I’d like to also say this — I didn’t want to, but when I came to office, we realized that the reason why we experienced the delay in the Pfizer from the COVAX Facility,” Darville said

“[It] was because under the former administration someone forgot to apply. As a result of that, it pushed us to the back. So now with negotiations, it will be here in the first week of November. Thank God.”

The national vaccination campaign has been ongoing since March.

The Bahamas has secured more than 500,000 doses of three vaccines: Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca and Pfizer.

More than 100,000 of those doses were secured through COVAX.

According to Darville, roughly 57,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine are expected to arrive in the country early next month through COVAX.

He said another 50,000 doses of the AstraZeneca were also secured through the Pan American Health Organization and the Canadian government.

According to the Ministry of Health and Wellness, as of Saturday, 119,172 people were fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in The Bahamas (including Johnson & Johnson vaccine), and a total of 129,687 people had received at least one dose of a vaccine (not including Johnson & Johnson).

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source https://thenassauguardian.com/former-govt-forgot-to-order-more-vaccines/