Guess How Many Vaccines The Caribbean Has Received To Date?

By NAN Staff Writer

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Weds. Aug. 11, 2021: As Caribbean governments struggle to make vaccines mandatory in their nation states amid a new spike in COVID-19 infections, and as anti-vaxxers protest, a News Americas analysis shows the region has received only a small percentage of vaccines to date compared to its population size.

A NAAN analysis of GAVI  and other data released shows the Caribbean has so far received just over 1.6 million AstraZeneca/Oxford COVID-19 vaccines under the COVAX sharing scheme for poorer countries, new data shows. That’s for a region that is home to over 40 million people.

The following nations received vaccines as follows so far:

Dominica – 28,800

Bermuda – 9,600

Barbados – 67,200

Saint Kitts/Nevis – 21,600

Guyana – 62,400

Trinidad and Tobago – 67,600

Suriname – 52,800

Saint Lucia – 50,400

Dominican Republic – 278,400

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – 45,600

Grenada – 45,600

Jamaica – 124,800

Antigua and Barbuda – 40,800

Haiti – 500,000

Bahamas – 67,200

Belize – 100,800

Suriname – 79,200

The news comes as anti-vax protests hit at least three Caribbean countries as the region sees a spike in new cases and governments move to make the vaccine mandatory for a population suspicious of the jab.

In St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Annamay Lewis, 56, who claims she is innocent, has been charged with wounding Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves. He suffered a concussion from the incident that occurred he walked through a crowd of protestors to parliament. She pleaded not guilty in court on Monday and was granted bail in the sum of $3000.00 with one surety. The matter has been adjourned to September 15, 2021.

In Antigua and Barbuda, protests against mandatory vaccination for certain segments of the population, including in the medical field, led to three arrests and in Guadeloupe, many also protested on Sunday against the French government’s moves to make the jab mandatory.

Globally, the COVAX facility, backed by the World Health Organization and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), has delivered over 190 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to 138 countries GAVI data shows, against a target to secure 2 billion doses for lower-income countries by the end of 2021.