Dr Guy calls for extended hours for vaccination programme
KINGSTON, Jamaica — Opposition Spokesman on Health and Wellness, Dr Morais Guy, is calling on the Ministry of Health and Wellness to extend the daily hours allocated to the vaccination programme, particularly for the residents of Portmore, to prevent a batch of the AstraZeneca vaccine from going to waste.
Noting that a batch of the AstraZeneca vaccine would be expiring today, Guy suggested that the ministry consider extending the hours at vaccination clinics across the island to utilise this batch of the vaccine.
He said the closing hours of 4 pm, or 5 pm in some areas, does not give enough time for some workers to get to the vaccination centres.
“The vaccination centres in Portmore and other dormitory-type communities should be considered for extended hours because residents have to struggle through traffic, whether by private or public transportation, to their community and by the time they get home, the centres would be closed,” he explained.
Guy said he is suggesting the change as he does not want to see any vaccine go to waste because “we failed to get it in the people’s arms”.
He added that the ministry should be focused on strategies to prevent the wastage of vaccines as a significant portion of the population is still unvaccinated.
To date, the island has registered 755,782 overall vaccinations.