BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, March 11, 2021 (Press Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister) – Prime Minister Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris said the Government is encouraged by the number of persons who are going out daily to be vaccinated against the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), since the roll-out of the mass vaccination programme on February 22 and the subsequent receipt of an additional 20,000 doses of the Oxford University/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine from the Government of India on March 01.
Information from the Ministry of Health revealed that as at Wednesday, March 10, a total of 5,176 persons (3,699 on St. Kitts and 1,477 on Nevis) had received their first vaccination shot, representing a total of 15.6 percent of the target population.
“I again congratulate all who have taken the vaccine,” Prime Minister Harris said on the most recent edition of Leadership Matters on Tuesday March 09.
Theprime minister added that, “Now is the time for our friends, co-workers and loved ones to step forward to be vaccinated. Some countries have no vaccines as yet. Some countries could not even start their roll-out. We in St. Kitts and Nevis are fortunate. Do not let it go to waste. The vaccines have a finite life and we must use them now for our protection.”
TheGovernment of St. Kitts and Nevis, particularly the Ministry of Health, has commenced an education drive on the importance of the vaccines through PSAs, town hall style meetings and via radio and television messages by the relevant authorities.
PrimeMinister Harris said, “Throughout the pandemic, we adopted the philosophy of the all-of-society approach and we really need to live it so that no one is left behind.”
TheGovernment’s goal is to have at least 70 percent of the critical age cohort between 18 and 80 years vaccinated, thereby achieving what is referred to in the medical fraternity as herd immunity.
HerdImmunity refers to resistance to the spread of an infectious disease within a population that is based on pre-existing immunity of a high proportion of individuals as a result of previous infection or vaccination.
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