More than 400 people here still have a chance to be vaccinated with the first batch of the AstraZeneca vaccine on island.
As of Friday March 12, a total of 1078 people have registered to receive the vaccine. Of this number, 1001 people have received their first dose and 130 have received their second dose. Montserrat received 3000 doses of the vaccine in early February but uptake has been slow. The first dose of the vaccine must be given my March 30 so the final dose can be administered before it expires in May, 2021.
St. Patrick’s Day 2020 will be remembered for several reasons. One of which would be the day that the government announced it’s first COVID-19 positive case. Premier Joseph E. Farrell, said in an address on Tuesday morning that the island’s success with managing the spread of the virus was a collective effort and the next phase requires the public’s support as well, calling for more people to register to take the AstraZeneca vaccine.
“We now need another 422 persons to register to be vaccinated, so that none of the doses in this first batch goes to waste,” Farrell said on ZJB Radio.
The premier also said there is no set date to receive more vaccines and urged residents to take the opportunity to protect themselves and others.
“…as a Government we are actively looking at ways to address any gaps in our systems, processes and protocols which may result in more cases. We know that travel must continue, although currently at a low level, and so we must ensure that arrivals into the island are monitored more closely so that any potential case arriving is kept isolated from members of the community. … I can confirm that the Government is considering and exploring a designated quarantine facility which will be monitored and will allow for quick isolation of any new cases entering the island. We will update you on this as soon as an agreement is reached.
“We have also placed an order for quarantine detection wrist bands, for persons in quarantine and these are expected to arrive on island shortly. We are doing everything within our power to protect the people of this country,” the premier added.
During the first phase of the virus spread, there were 12 confirmed cases and one fatality. A seven-month period of no cases was broken in early February and seven cases were confirmed. All have since recovered.
Registration can be done at any of the community health centres or online at https://gov.ms/vaccination
