KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Ministry of Health and Wellness says it will monitor people who have been inoculated with the COVID-19 vaccines to determine whether there are any adverse reactions.

On Monday (March 8), Jamaica received its first 50,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccines, donated by the Government of India.

The country started administering the vaccine on March 10, exactly one year after the first case of the virus was confirmed in the island.

Addressing the weekly COVID Conversations virtual press conference on March 11, Portfolio Minister, Dr Christopher Tufton, said the Government will be moving forward with administering the AstraZeneca vaccine, as it has been deemed effective by the World Health Organization (WHO).

He said only vaccines that have been approved by the WHO will be given to Jamaicans.

“Our position is that we remain committed to the vaccine and the efficacy of the vaccine as stated or outlined by the experts at the WHO and, even more recently, by (Epidemiologist) Professor Peter Figueroa, who is part of that AstraZeneca United Kingdom (UK) expert panel [that has said the vaccine is safe and effective]”.

 “The vaccine has been administered to millions of persons, so far, around the world and we have not had incidents that could change that expert view that it is an effective and safe vaccine. We will track the persons here in Jamaica, who will receive the vaccine, as we have done to show the actual impact. and so far so good,” he said.

The AstraZeneca vaccine is on the WHO’s Emergency Use Listing (EUL), which assesses the quality, safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines and is a prerequisite for COVAX Facility vaccine supply.

It also allows countries to expedite their own regulatory approval to import and administer COVID-19 vaccines.