40,000 covid19 vaccines arrive from India

Indian High Commissioner Arun Kumar Sahu is urging the people of Trinidad and Tobago to believe in science and take the covid19 vaccine.

On Tuesday night a donation of over 40,000 AstraZeneca Covishield vaccines was handed over to TT as a gift from the Government of India.

The vaccines, which were delayed by 24 hours by bad weather,  arrived around 10 pm at Piarco and were received by Minister of Health Terrence Deyalsingh and Foreign Affairs and Caricom Minister Dr Amery Browne, among other officials.

In a release, Sahu reminded the public of its duty to do what is necessary to keep themselves and those around them safe by taking the vaccine.

Sahu thanked the Prime Minister and Browne for their gratitude to the Indian Government.

He also thanked Opposition Kamla Persad-Bissessar for her letter to India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and applauded her for her “achievements and struggle.” He said “many in India look up to her as a beacon of women's empowerment.”

These vaccines are the second batch of India Covishield vaccines received by TT. In early February, the country received 2,000 doses as a donation from Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley from 100,000 doses donated to her country from India.

After several other countries in the region reported receiving vaccines as a gift from India, Persad-Bissessar called out Dr Rowley for failing to position TT to receive a batch from 500,000 vaccines  she claimed had been allocated to the Caribbean.

A spat between Browne and Persad-Bissessar followed after she wrote to India’s prime minister asking for a batch of vaccines on behalf of the country.

The Prime Minister, two weeks later, at a virtual event, said TT would not go “begging” for vaccines as gifts. Rowley said he had no confirmation from India of 500,000 vaccines available to the region.

Rowley said the country is willing to pay for any available vaccines while it waits for its 100,800 doses to be delivered from  Covax. The first batch of 33,600 arrived two weeks ago and over 10,000 people have already been given their first dose of the vaccine.

There is still no word from Covax on when the second shipment will arrive.

The dispute was settled at a meeting with the high commissioner and Browne when India pledged 40,000 vaccines to TT.

Sahu said in the release, “India and TT share a long-friendly relationship, a similar history, culture and democratic value system. This donation is a reiteration of that long-standing relations.

“I also thank the team comprising officials in the TT's Ministry of Health and Foreign and Caricom Affairs and those in the High Commission, Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi and others in India. They worked diligently to put in place the necessary logistics so that the vaccines could reach TT at the earliest.”