Deyalsingh: 36,000 senior citizens vaccinated to date

HEALTH Minister Terrence Deyalsingh has said of the 41,000-plus people to receive the covid19 vaccine in Trinidad and Tobago, around 36,000 were those 60 and older.

He was speaking at the Health Ministry’s virtual press conference on Wednesday morning.

The first group of people to receive the vaccine was frontline healthcare workers, followed by those over 60 with non-communicable diseases (NCDs), then those without. Eligibility was also then extended to MPs and their spouses, frontline national security personnel, members of the media and other groups.

As of 4 pm on Tuesday, 41,669 people had been vaccinated using the AstraZeneca vaccine – currently the only one in the country.

A total of 41, 802 vaccines were administered across all regional health authorities (RHA).

Deyalsingh said, “We had identified 5,000 frontline healthcare workers. On average, across the RHAs, they told me roughly 50 per cent of those have been vaccinated, so that’s 2,500…Outside of the NCD cohort, that will be another 2,500 to 3,000.

“If my math is correct, you’re looking at around 35,000-36,000 persons over 60, which is a pretty good uptake, for which I am grateful.”

The Health Ministry is winding down its vaccination drive until more supplies arrive.