KINGSTON, Jamaica — Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Christopher Tufton today tabled the Interim COVID-19 Deployment and Vaccination Plan during the sitting of the House of Representatives.

According to the minister, the plan covers the planning and coordination of vaccine introduction; the legal and regulatory framework; the phased approach of COVID-19 vaccination introduction in Jamaica; target populations and vaccination delivery strategies human resources management and training; supply chain management; risk assessment and mitigation strategies; vaccine programme communication; vaccine safety monitoring; and COVID-19 vaccine programme monitoring and evaluation.

Dr Tufton noted that the plan includes an Emergency Approval Regulatory process for COVID19 vaccines which will cover the granting of an Emergency Use Authorisation for the vaccines to be used in Jamaica.

He explained that a multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder governance structure has been established to lead the coordination and deployment of the COVID-19 Vaccine.

A National Coordinating Committee has also been established to design, plan and provide leadership to the field on all activities related to the vaccine introduction, the minister said.

The minister added that the budget required to support the first phase of the introduction and deployed of the vaccines — to vulnerable and priority groups —  is $3 billion. This, he said, will cover the purchase of the vaccine(s), supply chain and cold storage items, personal protective equipment, transportation, staff training, staff costs, and public education and sensitisation costs.