CIBC donates US$.5m to Caribbean for covid19 vaccines

CIBC First Caribbean International Bank has donated US$500,000 to ten countries, including Trinidad and Tobago, to help buy covid19 vaccines.

In a release, CIBC said TT, Antigua, Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, St Kitts, St Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines would benefit from the donation.

It is also separately donating US$250,000 to vaccinate 2,500 of its staff members.

The bank’s CEO Colette Delaney said vaccination is a “key weapon in the arsenal against covid19. We are delighted to assist governments and public health officials in ensuring that everyone who wants the vaccine can have access to it.”

She said the global community and medical experts have made great strides in the past year in response to the virus and noted that an effective vaccine was “critical to protect individuals, families and communities and reopen our economies.”

Delaney said public health officials “advised that as many people as possible must be vaccinated to achieve a level of immunity that makes the spread of the virus from person to person unlikely. As a result, the whole community becomes protected – not just those who are immune.”

She praised frontline healthcare workers as well as her own staff members for their efficiency throughout the pandemic.

Last March, the bank donated US$250,000 to its 16 regional members to help health officials buy testing supplies, personal protective equipment (PPE) and other supplies.