Health minister slams Opposition MP's false vaccine claims

HEALTH Minister Terrence Deyalsingh on Saturday slammed allegations from Oropouche East MP Dr Roodal Moonilal that the people of Trinidad and Tobago were being used as "guinea pigs" for the Sinopharm vaccine from China.

In a statement, Deyalsingh said Moonilal's claims "only reinforces the MP’s deliberate attempts to derail the country’s vaccination drive."

He also said they reinforce "the continuous adverse position by the Opposition, led by Kamla Persad Bissesar, to anything positive for the people of Trinidad and Tobago."

Deyalsingh condemned Moonilal's falsifications and "the continuous negative deliberations by the Opposition to create confusion in the society and thwart the overall objective by the Ministry of Health and the Government of TT, to protect and save lives."

"The fact is the covid19 Sinopharm Beijing vaccine has undergone a rigorous World Health Organization (WHO) vaccine assessment, which included on-site inspections of the production facility prior to the WHO official approval of the Sinopharm Beijing vaccine for the Emergency Use Listing Procedure (EUL) on May 7, 2021."

Deyalsingh said, "The WHO assessment is the same review process used for Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson and Johnson and AstraZeneca covid19 vaccines, which all currently have EUL approval."

He said Moonilal "also received the same AstraZeneca vaccine which has EUL approval."

The minister reiterated that the Sinopharm Beijing vaccine has been authorised for use in 45 countries/jurisdictions and over 65 million doses of the Sinopharm vaccine have been administered through various emergency use programmes.

Deyalsingh said that EUL is a risk-based procedure for assessing and listing vaccines, with the ultimate aim of expediting the availability of these products to people affected by a public health emergency.

"WHO has confirmed the Sinopharm Beijing vaccine as having a very good safety and efficacy profile. On the basis of all available evidence, the Sinopharm vaccine efficacy is estimated at 78.1 per cent for all age groups 18 years and over."

Deyalsingh reiterared that all vaccines procured on behalf of the people of Trinidad and Tobago are selected based on the robust standards of the WHO and "absolutely no covid19 vaccine will be administered without WHO approval."

He said to date, all covid19 vaccines administered in Trinidad and Tobago have received EUL approval from the WHO. "The selection of vaccines will always be based on the safety of the lives of all citizens in Trinidad and Tobago, which is the number one priority for the Government and the Ministry of Health."

At a news conference at the Diplomatic Cenre in St Ann's on Friday, Deyalsingh said 100,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine promised by China in March, will be shipped to this country as early as next week.