Ministry Suspends First Doses Of Pfizer Vaccine Until New Shipment Arrives

Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, says the first-dose administration of the Pfizer coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine will be suspended after Friday (September 10).

The suspension is to ensure that there is sufficient supply to administer the second dose to persons who will become due shortly.

Children between the ages of 12 and 18 years have been prioritised to receive this brand of vaccine.

“The reason for this approach is because we have not yet confirmed the arrival date of the second shipment of Pfizer vaccines from the United States (US),” Dr. Tufton said.

“We’re awaiting word from the United States [and] we are hoping that the confirmation date will not be long,” he said, noting that the Ministry will resume administering first doses once an arrival date is established.

He was addressing the weekly virtual COVID Conversations press briefing on Thursday (September 9).

Dr.  Tufton said that the Ministry has already contacted persons who are due their second dose, which will be administered this weekend.

Dr. Tufton said that second doses are usually due three weeks after receiving the first dose.

The Ministry is reporting that 72,857 doses of the Pfizer vaccine remain of the 208,260 doses that arrived in the island on August 19.

More than 600,000 doses of Pfizer vaccines are being donated to Jamaica by the US Government.