Govt to roll out vaccine incentives

Minister of Health and Wellness Dr. Michael Darville said yesterday that the government will soon roll out its social mobilization program, in collaboration with the private sector, to encourage the public to take the COVID-19 vaccine.

“Those incentives could be gift certificates,” Darville said.

“It could be a lotto. It could be many things. Those things are being discussed as we speak because we realize that there’s a group of individuals in our country who are on the fence and still uncertain on whether they want to be vaccinated or not.

“So we are activating our social mobilization campaign and it will be released very shortly. In that particular campaign, we will be targeting this group very aggressively.”

The Bahamas’ COVID-19 vaccination campaign has been ongoing since March.

Thus far, more than 300,000 doses of three vaccines — Johnson & Johnson, 

AstraZeneca, and Pfizer — have been secured. As a result, as of Saturday, nearly 149,000 people have been fully vaccinated in country.

However, despite efforts to vaccinate as much of the population as possible, demand for vaccines has still lagged in recent weeks.

Darville said last week that 20,000 doses of the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine are expected to expire at the end of the month.

He attributed it to the arrival of Pfizer as one of the reasons why the demand for the vaccine dwindled.

Former Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis has recommended that the government consider exchanging the doses with another country that is in need.

He said that allowing the doses to expire will make it harder for The Bahamas to secure additional doses.

In response to Minnis, Darville said yesterday, “The vaccination committee has been in discussion with many countries around the world as it relates to who wants the vaccine. We’ve made many attempts. There are other countries.

“As a matter of fact, I saw someone who wanted to donate 250,000 doses of AstraZeneca that are near expiration. So many countries are challenged with trading vaccines.

“It is not as simple as saying, ‘I want the vaccine’ and you send it. There are a lot of steps that need to take place.”

Darville reiterated that the government has a plan for increasing vaccine uptake.

He said it will be “very aggressive in the next couple of days to activate our plan”.

“Hopefully, with the support of the Bahamian people, we will get those vaccines in arms,” Darville said.

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source https://thenassauguardian.com/govt-to-roll-out-vaccine-incentives/