Ministry To Provide Details On Registering Elderly For Vaccine

Health and Wellness Minister, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, says that details about the process of registration for persons 60 years and older, to receive the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine, will be provided in short order.

The inoculation of members of this demographic, which is estimated at 350,000 persons, will commence in April.

He said that the plan “speaks to a toll-free number that is going to be manned by a business process outsourcing (BPO) firm and a website that you can upload information”.

He noted that information provided by private doctors, health centres and clinics will also be used to generate appointments.

Dr. Tufton, who was addressing the weekly virtual COVID Conversations press briefing on March 11, said that special provision will be made to accommodate persons who are immobile or are under strict stay-at-home orders.

“The plan caters to persons who are at home and are not mobile because of age or restrictions. Where we have to go to persons, we will do that because the plan has a mobile component to it,” he noted.

Jamaica commenced its vaccination programme on March 10, exactly one year after the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in the island.

At the end of day one, 2,718 healthcare workers were inoculated. The goal is to vaccinate 3,280 members of this priority group.

Vaccination of the members of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) and the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) is now under way.

Meanwhile, Director of Family Health Services in the Ministry and clinical lead for the vaccination implementation programme, Dr. Melody Ennis, said that the Government is establishing special protocols to guide the vaccination of members of the disabled community.

“We know how we inform them will have to be a little bit different from how we inform the general population based on the challenges that they may have,” she said.