FULL QUARANTINE PROTOCOLS REMAIN IN PLACE FOR ARRIVING INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE RECEIVED A COVID-19 VACCINE

Basseterre, St. Kitts, December 23, 2020 (SKNIS): Persons travelling to St. Kitts and Nevis must complete a 14-day quarantine period before they are allowed to integrate freely within the society. There are no exceptions, the Minister of Health said on Tuesday (December 22, 2020) not even for persons who have received the recently approved COVID-19 vaccines.

“The trials tell us that they have an efficacy rate of 90 percent, that is at least 90 percent of the persons who would have been vaccinated with the vaccines during trials were able to fight the disease versus persons who were given a placebo,” Honourable Akilah Byron-Nisbett stated on the year-end finale of “Leadership Matters – A Virtual Forum Series.”

However, the minister indicated that the effectiveness of the vaccine can only be determined when it is placed in a real-world setting. This is currently playing out in the United States, the United Kingdom, and other countries.

“When you mix with persons with other illnesses or age, or whatever, in the real world, it is not the same as in the clinical setting. Only then we can determine how effective that drug really is,” Honourable Byron-Nisbett added. “It is going to take some time before enough persons are vaccinated for us to determine its effectiveness.”

Another point raised was the need for persons to be vaccinated twice. Individuals who received the vaccine from Pfizer/BioNTech must wait 21 days before receiving a second shot. Moderna has a 28-day waiting period before the second shot is administered.

The Minister of Health said that the quarantine measures will remain in place to protect the population from being stricken with the deadly novel coronavirus.
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