Tobago covid19 vaccine appointments put on hold

A hold has been put on on vaccine appointments in Tobago.

Dr Roxanne Mitchell, co-ordinator for the Tobago vaccine roll-out and general manager of primary care at the Tobago Regional Health Authority (TRHA) has said the demand outweighs the number of doses available.

Mitchell was speaking to reporters virtually during a news conference hosted by the THA Division of Health, Wellness and Family Development on Tuesday.

She said: “At present, we’ve placed a hold on distribution of appointments, as we have a greater demand for the vaccines than vaccines available to us. It is hoped that once we receive the additional vaccines into the country, we can resume the issuance of appointments.”

She said a total of 3,640 people have registered for the vaccine, which does not include people at clinics or walk-ins.

She said she is aware of one case of an adverse reaction to the vaccine on the island.

“The person developed what we call urticaria – that is raising of the skin – eight minutes after receiving the vaccine.

"They were administered the necessary treatment and they were observed beyond and discharged with follow-up. I’m not aware of any other cases that we’ve confirmed as being adverse reaction.”

On March 31, TT received 33,600 doses of AztraZeneca vaccines in the first tranche from the World Health Organization’s Covax facility.

Of that number, Tobago got 3,000 doses, enough to vaccinate 1,500 people.

This is the second batch of vaccines to arrive in Tobago, as on February 18 it received 200 doses, part of a gift of 2,000 AstraZeneca vaccines to TT from Barbados. These were offered to 100 healthcare professionals.

Mitchell said public vaccine rollouts began on April 6, with a daily target of vaccine administration set at 150 people per day, but so far that target has been exceeded, averaging 172 people a day.

She said most people who have received the vaccine thus far are over 60 and have non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

“On day one, we began with 43 such persons and as of yesterday (April 12), we had a maximum of 96 persons over the age of 60 receiving vaccines per day.

"We have at present 17 per cent of the persons administered the vaccines being healthcare workers, 44 per cent of the clients over the age of 60 receiving vaccines and 38 per cent of persons under the age of 60, and these persons have been classified as essential workers as well as persons under 60 with NCDs.”

She said 62 per cent of thosee vaccinated to date are healthcare workers and people over 60.

“We have vaccinated 262 healthcare workers to date. This represents about 16 per cent of the healthcare workers on the island.”

She said at the end of Monday, a total of 977 doses of the vaccine had been administered and by 10am on Tuesday, the total was 1,024.

Secretary of the division Tracy Davidson Celestine is encouraging people to take personal responsibility for their health and wellness amidst the covid19 pandemic

“We all still have a personal responsibility to ensure that we manage ourselves and most importantly, to ensure that we manage our interactions going forward.”

She added: “Our systems are basically working. I want to give you the assurance that all of us in this process are very committed to ensuring that we manage the spread of covid on this island and more so, that we work with you in terms of charting your health needs.”

In its latest update, the Division of Health, Wellness and Family Development said the island currently has 23 active cases, having recorded two new ones. There were no discharges. Covid19 deaths remained at two.

The number of samples submitted to the TRHA, the Caribbean Public Health Agency and other local testing sites is 3,758. So far, 185 have tested positive.