BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, July 02, 2021 (Press Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister) – The first phase of the country’s vaccination programme came to an end on Wednesday, June 30, 2021 with a reported 41,850 total doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine being administered to citizens and residents of St. Kitts and Nevis.
Thefigures indicate that 22,937 adults or 69.4 percent of the Government’s target population received at least one dose of the vaccine and 18,913 adults or 57.2 percent had the required two doses.
Inan address to the nation earlier today (July 02), Prime Minister Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris said, “This is a remarkable accomplishment. I am very pleased that we have made these strides in protecting our people from this deadly virus. I want to commend our citizens and residents for answering the call and responding favourably to our appeals to protect themselves, their families, their communities, and their fellow citizens and residents. Thank you for coming forward to be vaccinated. This is indeed a notable contribution to efforts to preserve the life and health of every citizen and resident in our beloved Federation.”
Theprime minister gave special commendation to the hardworking nurses and healthcare professionals who contributed to the success of the vaccination programme, as well as all the patriotic civilians who engaged persons around them to accept the vaccine.
Dr. Harris said, “The science has shown that countries with high vaccination coverage have a decreased risk of viral transmission and are able to move back to a sense of normalcy, putting their people back to work, bringing increased business activity and putting the country on the path to recovery.”
Notwithstandingthe success to date, Prime Minister Harris reminded citizens and residents that they must not become complacent as COVID-19 is still with us.
“We still need to encourage everyone who should be vaccinated to do. This will allow us to reach a high threshold of vaccination coverage that will enable us to fully open up our country with minimal risk,” the prime minister said.
TheGovernment, through bilateral arrangements, have secured an additional 5,000 doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 and will restart its vaccination programme on Thursday, July 08.
