Opposition Spokesman on Health and Wellness, Dr Morais Guy has reiterated that the Jamaican Government could be forced to mix vaccines if expected second doses of the Pfizer shots do not arrive in the island on time.

Tens of thousands of Jamaicans, including children, are awaiting their second dose of the Pfizer shot, the administration of which was suspended on September 15 after the initial batch of 208,000 was said to run out.

“I have months ago suggested that the government could consider doing that (mix vaccines) because it is something that has been done in other jurisdictions although it could be a situation where it’s the reverse in terms of the order in which the vaccines are given in Jamaica,” Guy told OBSERVER ONLINE in an interview.

He noted that Germany, Spain, France and British Colombia in Canada have been mixing vaccines. He said he posed the question sometime ago to the Chief Medical Officer, Jacqueline Bisasor-McKenzie during a parliamentary committee meeting on COVID-19.

“Her response was that we’re not going in that particular direction because it’s not recommended by WHO (World Health Organistion,” Guy said

“My response to that is that other jurisdictions that have eminent scientists made recommendations and the science is not farfetched.”

“So it may very well be, in the absence of getting Pfizer vaccines and we are told that you can go up to 12 weeks (between doses), the reality is that not having an idea if and when we will be able to get Pfizer, the government may very well have to resort to giving persons the second dose of another type of vaccine which would be AstraZeneca,” said Guy.

He insists that it should be something that is on the table and should be considered.

Meanwhile, Guy has rapped the government for the slow pace of vaccine take-up among Jamaicans. He said this is so in large part because the Andrew Holness-led administration has, in his estimation, refused to accept recommendations from the parliamentary Opposition.  

“We recommended from a long time ago that the message that goes out there ought to be different. You need to give messages that are relevant”.

According to Guy, it was time to get away from what he called the macro/national messages and instead focus on micro messages that are targeted at communities and inner-city areas. He said the authorities should engage community influencers such as justices of the peace, pastor and others.

“You would back that up with the people who have the scientific knowledge,” said the Opposition spokesman.

“The message has to change and the mode of giving the vaccination has to change as people are put off at the fixed sites where people turn up and have to wait for several hours,” he added

And Guy said more mobile vaccination units must be made available to reach people in rural areas as oftentimes persons do not have the money to pay for transportation to visit the fixed vaccination sites.

In the meantime, Guy asserted that both the Ministry of Health and Wellness and health minister Dr Christopher Tufton must quickly clarify reports that surfaced this week that second dose Pfizer vaccines were being administered in the minister’s St Catherine West Central constituency and the Thompson Town division.