NASSAU, Bahamas — A Cabinet minister last night said the US pledge to make 60m AstraZeneca COVID vaccine doses available to other nations can be “the shot in the arm” for The Bahamas’ tourism and economic revival, The Tribune reported on Tuesday, April 27, in an article written by Business Editor Neil Hartnell.
Dionisio D’Aguilar, minister of tourism and aviation, told Tribune Business he “would be extremely disappointed” if the Biden administration did not include The Bahamas among the countries that it allows to access that vaccine stockpile.
Speaking after the White House promised to release 60m doses to help other nations win their battle with the global pandemic, the minister said this nation was “one of the countries with the strongest cases” for accessing this potentially critical resource.
He argued that it would be “a win-win” for the US to aid one of its nearest neighbours, as it has previously done with Canada and Mexico, given that much of the leakage in spending by The Bahamas’ visitors goes straight back into the American economy.
When combined with the 120,000 vaccine shots that The Bahamas has already received from India and the COVAX facility, Mr D’Aguilar suggested as little as 500,000 doses could be required to fully vaccinate (with two shots) some 300,000 out of this nation’s estimated 400,000-strong population and achieve so-called “herd immunity”.
Hailing the US pledge as a potential “game changer” in The Bahamas’ efforts to escape the pandemic’s clutches, he nevertheless warned that this must be combined with Bahamians “doing a better job of embracing vaccinations” if the country wants to rebound economically from both COVID-19 and Hurricane Dorian.
“I would be extremely disappointed if The Bahamas was not a part of that,” Mr D’Aguilar said of the upcoming 60m AstraZeneca vaccine distribution. “I’ve always said this is a win-win situation for the US.
“First of all, we’re right on their border and, presently, 93 percent of our visitors come from their country. A large percentage of the visitor spend made in the Bahamian economy through their citizens ends up going back into their local economies. See complete Tribune article at http://www.tribune242.com/news/2021/apr/27/minister-us-give-us-covid-shot-arm/
