Basseterre, St. Kitts, May 06, 2021 (SKNIS): “Do Not Wait – Vaccinate” is the clarion call from health authorities in St. Kitts and Nevis as the Roll Up 2 Roll Out COVID-19 vaccination campaign hits the ten-week mark since it was launched on February 22, 2021.
Statistics revealed by the Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr. Hazel Laws, showed that at the close of health centres on Wednesday, April 05, 2021, some 13,283 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to date. The number is 39.5 percent of the target population needed to reach herd immunity.
Also included in the aforementioned total is the 220 persons who received their second dose of the vaccine and who will be fully vaccinated in two weeks.. Among them were Prime Minister Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris; Attorney General, the Honourable Vincent Byron Jr; Commissioner of Police Hilroy Brandy; and Lieutenant Colonel J. Anthony Comrie, Commander of the St. Kitts-Nevis Defence Force.
CMO Laws said that the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine has proven to be effective.
“Once you are fully vaccinated… you would enjoy an 83 percent risk reduction in your ability to pick up COVID-19,” she said. “Let us protect ourselves from COVID-19.”
The Chief Medical Officer said that the vaccines are limited, and the present stock must be utilized before the end of June.
“Do not run out of time. Do not wait – vaccinate,” Dr. Laws said.