NASSAU, Bahamas — First doses of the Pfizer vaccine could resume as early as today, Minister of Health and Wellness Dr. Michael Darville said yesterday, moments after 57,330 doses of Pfizer landed in the country, The Nassau Guardian reported on Friday, October 22.
On October 12, the ministry said due to diminishing supplies of Pfizer, first doses would no longer be offered as of October 18.
Darville said yesterday that there are teams on standby who are ready to move.
“We have people at all our centers expecting to be vaccinated and they want Pfizer,” he said.
“The program was scaled back a little bit because we needed to have the vaccines on the ground.
“They are here, they will be stored effectively and you will begin to see even a greater roll out because the appetite and the demand for vaccines, in particular Pfizer, is definitely on the rise.
“That is a good sign for us. We need to be able to meet the demand with this supply.
“We will begin to see the roll out as early as this week, possibly tomorrow (Friday).”
The Pfizer doses, courtesy of the COVAX Facility, arrived in The Bahamas shortly after noon. This is the fourth tranche of vaccines The Bahamas has received through COVAX.
As of October 23, second doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine will not be offered, according to the ministry, which added that, consequently, the Pfizer vaccine will be made available as a second dose instead.
Darville said the vaccines are absolutely essential.
“We have people throughout our Family Islands just waiting for the doses to arrive,” he said.
“We are pleased that they are here today.
“You will see very shortly, we will begin to boost up and bump up the amount of vaccinations at our various centers, not only on New Providence or Grand Bahama but also throughout the Family Islands.” See complete article in The Nassau Guardian at https://thenassauguardian.com/57000-more-pfizer-vaccines-arrive/
