THE country should know by this weekend the initial number of doses of COVID-19 vaccines it will be receiving through the COVAX facility, and a specific delivery timeline for the first two quarters of this year.

“…It’s an initial estimation and we do expect that things may change, but I think that it’s a very positive move that will signal to persons for their to be a building of confidence,” Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Jaquiline Bisasor McKenzie told a joint select committee of the House of Representatives on the novel coronavirus pandemic and related matters when it met yesterday.

The Ministry of Health and Wellness is targeting just over 440,000 people across several categories to receive the vaccine initially. This includes: 16,000 health care personnel; 250 parliamentarians and senior staff; 379,355 elderly citizens; 12,250 in the penal system; 5,000 soldiers; 15,000 members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force; 4,000 fire service personnel; 2,600 correctional officers; 1000 members of the immigration service; 3,242 residents and staff of nursing homes; and 1,377 people in infirmaries.

At two doses per person, an estimated 677,033 doses of the vaccine would be needed. The ministry will be using fixed vaccination centres at hospitals and health centres, and deploying mobile teams to outposts.

The CMO, meanwhile, dismissed speculation that the COVAX facility may not be able to, due to cost and other factors, access enough vaccines to supply Jamaica under the mechanism, which is supposed to ensure fair access to the shots as they become available.

She said yesterday that COVAX has surpassed the target of procuring two billion vaccines for 2021.

– Alphea Saunders