Measures Being Put In Place For Rollout Of COVID-19 Vaccine

The Ministry of Health and Wellness has been putting the necessary measures in place, in preparation for the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine across the island.

Speaking at a JIS ‘Think Tank’ on February 24, Director of Family Health Services in the Ministry, Dr. Melody Ennis, outlined some of the activities that the Ministry has undertaken in this regard.

“We have done the proper defining of the populations, down to the parish and district level, so we know how many persons over 60 are living in different areas in the country,” she said.

“We know all of our healthcare workers, both in private and in public, and we are in dialogue with the police high command and the army. We have all those numbers of those persons who would require vaccination,” she added.

Dr. Ennis informed that the micro plan, which has been the focus of the Regional Health Authorities (RHAs) over the past two months, has generated very detailed information, “so that our execution may be as seamless as possible. So we have defined the population; we know who we’re going to vaccinate and we know where they are”.

The Family Health Services Director said that the actual administration of the vaccine will be done at 72 fixed sites across the island, supported by a mobile team.

The names of the fixed sites, she pointed out, will be published at the appropriate time. Many of the fixed sites are located within health facilities; however, there are also some non-health fixed sites, which are specific to the population that is to be vaccinated. These include infirmaries and nursing homes.

“Those persons can’t come to us, so we will be going to them, so we will be establishing these non-health fixed sites,” she said, adding that the RHAs have done the necessary due diligence.

She pointed out that there would already have been a working relationship with these entities by having jurisdictional rights to inspect, so it would now be a matter of having dialogue with these institutions and making the necessary arrangements for the setup to be done.

Dr. Ennis added that the army and penal institutions also fall under the non-health fixed sites.

The Family Health Services Director pointed out that the vaccination teams that have been put together are quite inclusive, so that all areas are covered.

“We have persons on the team who will be responsible for registering people, actually giving the vaccine, as well as persons who’ll be responsible for observing after you have received same, someone responsible for waste management and someone responsible for record keeping. We have developed those teams and there are usually about three or so teams per parish,” she said, adding that depending on the need, those numbers may increase.