KINGSTON, Jamaica— The Ministry of Health and Wellness is now providing booster shots to Jamaicans 18 years and older who qualify, said portfolio minister Dr Christopher Tufton on Wednesday.

Previously, people 60 years and older, along with healthcare workers, were being provided with booster shots.

Dr Tufton explained that the programme is being expanded, as the country now has sufficient vaccines.

“We have the inventory, and we have the stock to support this and indeed, we want to encourage it,” he said.

“So, persons who have taken the AstraZeneca and are six months after their second dose, can now receive a booster shot of the Pfizer vaccines. Persons who have taken a Pfizer vaccine and are six months after their second dose can now receive a booster shot of the same Pfizer vaccine,” Dr Tufton explained.

Additionally, the booster can be given with the Johnson and Johnson vaccine two to six months after administration of the primary vaccination, or with the Pfizer vaccine six months after the primary vaccination.

A total of 396,630 doses of Pfizer remain in storage. Some 386,100 doses of the AstraZeneca are also in storage along with 130,635 Johnson and Johnson doses and 198,470 Sinopharm.

The health minister is encouraging people to take advantage of the vaccine opportunities especially in light of the emergence of the Omicron variant.

“That’s a lot of inventory and it is an indication that vaccine availability is not the issue. If we were to utilise this quantity to apply the dosage that is necessary to complete the full initial dose, barring booster shots, we could inoculate some 625,000 citizens,” Dr Tufton pointed out.

“It means that we have no complaints and indeed, the concern now is to get rid of, in the proper way, in the way we would like, the vaccines that we have in inventory,” he added.

Children between the ages of 12 and 17 years are not able to access a booster currently.