Deyalsingh: Still no vaccine contract from Africa Medical

HEALTH Minister Terrence Deyalsingh has said that despite “repeatedly asking” Africa Medical Supplies Platform for a sales contract, it is yet to provide one. Without this, he said, this country cannot buy any vaccines through that system.

In June 2020, then Caricom chairman Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley announced that Caricom had secured access to vaccines through this platform.

Jamaica is set to become the first Caricom member to receive vaccines through the platform within “a few days,” according to its health ministry. It is expected to get 75,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Asked by Newsday during the ministry’s virtual press conference on Wednesday if discussions with the platform had made progress, Deyalsingh said, “We are in daily contact with Africa Medical Supplies Platform. We have asked them repeatedly for their sales contract, because we cannot pay for vaccines without that based on a firm quotation.”

He said up to Wednesday morning he spoke to the team overseeing that arrangement, and still nothing had been provided.

Trinidad and Tobago is also expected to receive some 426,000 vaccines through this platform, but a date is yet to be announced.

TT has received 33,600 vaccines through Covax, 2,000 from Barbados and is due to receive 40,000 from India on Monday.