Port of Spain 10 May, 2021 (PAHO/WHO) - Today, Trinidad and Tobago received its second batch of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines through the COVAX Facility. The 33,600 doses of COVID-19 vaccines arrived at the Piarco International Airport at 11:59a.m today
Trinidad and Tobago is expected to receive a further 100,000 Sinopharm Beijing vaccines from the People’s Republic of China. Minister Deyalsingh indicated that these vaccines would be delivered early this week.
PAHO continues to support the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago in the fight against COVID-19 as PAHO’s Revolving Fund is responsible for the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines for the countries of the Americas under the COVAX Mechanism.
Since the first case of COVID-19 was reported in Trinidad and Tobago, the country has recorded 13,355 cases and 211 deaths as a result of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
COVAX seeks to provide vaccines for at least 20% of the population of each participating country during 2021. In this first round of vaccine allocation, all COVAX participating countries will receive doses to vaccinate between 2.2 and 2.6% of their population. The only exceptions are small island developing States, which will receive an allocation of vaccines to cover between 16 and 20% of their population, due to the high logistical cost of delivering small quantities of vaccines.
Until vaccination is widespread among the population, individual responsibility to follow basic public health measures: practicing physical distancing, hand hygiene, the use of masks, adequate ventilation of indoor environments, and avoidance of crowded spaces, remain fundamental to protection against COVID-19. For public health authorities, this means continuing to conduct screening, contact tracing, isolation, assisted quarantine, and quality care.
COVAX, the vaccines pillar of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, is co-led by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance Gavi) and the World Health Organization (WHO) – working in partnership with UNICEF as key implementing partner, as well as civil society organisations, vaccine manufacturers, the World Bank, and others. In the Americas, the PAHO Revolving Fund is the recognized procurement agent for the COVAX facility.
