[Updated] Supermarkets want to buy 30,000 covid19 vaccines for workers

The Supermarkets Association (SATT) is seeking 30,000 covid19 vaccines for its staff and according to its president, members are willing to pay for them.

In a media release on Wednesday, the association's head Rajiv Diptee said it was in talks with the Ministry of Health (MoH) about the process.

In reply, Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh requested SATT to show how they intended to procure the vaccines and to properly administer them.

Diptee on Wednesday said SATT it was in talks with the ministry about the process.

He told Newsday via WhatsApp that formal dialogue has begun with the ministry to identify suppliers of an approved vaccine for the SATT to buy.

Diptee said, “We are prepared to purchase the vaccines through authorised channels. However, this requires the procedural process of due diligence with the MoH which is currently in train.

“In addition, this process will only happen with the express permission of the MoH subject to formalising a public private partnership to service the needs of the people in our sector who have been frontliners since day one.”

He said SATT understood the vaccine distribution would be via partner hospitals and mobile channels, since the vaccine can only be administered by physicians and registered nurses. “This is our attempt to alleviate the public burden as we recognise that incoming vaccines through the Covax facility targets the vulnerable populations firstly as opposed to the average citizen,” he said.

Diptee said supermarket workers were essential, front line staff, serving customers since covid19 was first detected here in March 2020.

The Government has sought the Oxford-AstraZenca vaccine, but only received a donation of 2,000 doses from Barbados so far. The first 33,000 vaccines from Covax are due to arrive by the end of March. TT had asked for 100,800 doses. The Government has been exploring other options. On Tuesday, Dr Keith Rowley and China’s President Xi Jinping held talks on TT’s potentially acquiring China’s Sinopharm covid19 vaccine, once approved by the World Health Organization (WHO.)

Deyalsingh in a statement later said such requests need a studied response, inclusive of talks with his ministry's permanent secretary, chief medical officer and legal unit.

"This is to ensure that vaccines imported into Trinidad and Tobago are safe and effective. This is the overarching principle that has guided the national vaccination programme."

He said the ministry had responded in writing to the association on Wednesday and for transparency purposes had released to the public its letter.

The letter said the Government's policy is for any WHO-approved vaccine – as listed on the WHO website and once approved under TT's Food and Drug Act – to be imported by a local distributor.

Deyalsingh requested the name of SATT's distributor.

"The Ministry of Health advises that to date covid19 vaccine manufacturers have indicated that all parties like yourself who wish to purchase vaccines shall enter into a liability and indemnity agreement as a condition of purchase," he said.

He also advised that the integrity of the cold chain must be maintained from the point of manufacture to the point of use, in a facility aligning to the required specifications.

"It should be noted that relevant consumables in the appropriate quantities will also be required for vaccine distribution," he added.

"Based on the above, you are asked to submit a detailed covid19 vaccine deployment plan which also includes the lead members of the clinical team/s from the private hospitals and entities identified in your letter by Wednesday, March 31."

This story has been updated with additional details. Below is the original publication.

The Supermarkets Association (SATT) is seeking 30,000 covid19 vaccines for its staff and according to its president, members are willing to pay for them.

In a media release on Wednesday, the association's head Rajiv Diptee said it was in talks with the Ministry of Health (MoH) about the process.

He told Newsday via WhatsApp that formal dialogue has begun with the ministry to identify suppliers of a vaccine approved by the ministry for the SATT to buy.

Diptee said, “We are prepared to purchase the vaccines through authorised channels. However, this requires the procedural process of due diligence with the MoH which is currently in train.

“In addition, this process will only happen with the expressed permission of the MoH subject to formalising a Public Private Partnership to service the needs of the people in our sector who have been frontliners since day one.”

He said SATT understood that the distribution of the covid19 vaccines would be through partner hospitals and mobile channels, since the vaccine can only be administered by physicians and registered nurses.

“This is our attempt to alleviate the public burden as we recognise that incoming vaccines through the Covax facility targets the vulnerable populations firstly as opposed to the average citizen,” he said.

Diptee said supermarket workers were and continued to be essential staff and have been on the front lines serving customers since covid19 was first detected here in March 2020.

Government has been seeking doses of the Oxford-AstraZenca vaccine, but has only received a donation of 2,000 doses from Barbados so far. Government has noted that the first tranche of 33,000 vaccines made available through Covax is scheduled to arrive by the end of March.

Government has also been exploring other options. On Tuesday day Dr Keith Rowley and China’s President Xi Jinping held discussions on TT's potentially acquiring China’s Sinopharm covid19 vaccine, once approved by the World Health Organization.