568,615 Doses Of Vaccines Available – Dr. Tufton

Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, says 568,615 doses of vaccine are available in the island to administer to Jamaicans.

These include 390,180 doses of the AstraZeneca brand for first and second doses, and 178,435 of the Johnson & Johnson single-dose brand.

“We are saying to Jamaicans, please, if you have not yet gotten your vaccines or you need to get your second dose, or you need the one-jab vaccine, we have in stock. Go to a site that is available, either through the private window or public [sector], to benefit from this,” Dr. Tufton said.

He was speaking at the virtual COVID Conversations press conference on September 1.

Meanwhile, he is assuring Jamaicans that expired vaccines will not be administered, noting that a protocol exists for discarding them.

Approximately 60,000 doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine were scheduled to expire at midnight on September 30.

“If tomorrow (Friday) morning you turn up at a location, do not worry that you’re being given a vaccine that is expired, that will not happen. The vaccines that will be available as of tomorrow is a different batch of vaccines,” he said.

Dr Tufton explained that the expired vaccines are the remainder of the 300,000 United Kingdom (UK)-donated Oxford AstraZeneca brand vaccines, which arrived in the island in July.

“We received the vaccines the end of July with a two-month period for use. Normally, these vaccines would have a six-month shelf life, but we got it four months into its usable shelf life. Our intention was to get take-up all 300,000 doses, and we have gotten up to 240,000,” he pointed out.

“Our policy is, that we do not administer vaccines that have expired, in keeping with the high standards we have established for the immunisation programme. There was always the possibility that we would have not used up as much as was given during the period that was given to dispose of the amount,” he said.

Dr. Tufton said that the disposal of the expired batch will take place in consultation with the donors.

“There’s a protocol for discarding vaccines that have expired. We are not unaccustomed to that protocol given that we administer vaccines on an ongoing basis; its logged and there is a particular way to destroy, which will take place and perhaps in this case, in consultation with the donor,” he indicated.

Meanwhile, Dr. Tufton said Jamaica hopes to receive additional doses of the Pfizer vaccine early in October.