Health Ministry: No picking and choosing covid19 vaccines

No, you cannot tell health officials you prefer one covid19 vaccine over the other.

Epidemiologist Dr Avery Hinds made this clear during the Health Ministry's virtual press conference on Monday.

There are currently two WHO-approved covid19 vaccines being used in Trinidad and Tobago: Sinopharm and AstraZeneca.

To date, this country has received 67,200 AstraZeneca vaccine doses from Covax, 40,000 from India, 16,000 from St Vincent and the Grenadines and 3,000 from Barbados. In addition, a 9,000-dose donation from Bermuda is expected to arrive on Monday.

Trinidad and Tobago has also received 100,000 Sinopharm vaccines from China.

Asked how people who registered to be vaccinated can indicate which vaccine they want, Hinds said, "The vaccine that's available where you have made your appointment and you have received your appointment date is the one you will receive. There isn't a, 'Okay, I'll take SInopharm,' or, 'I'll take AstraZeneca.'

"At this point in time, the vaccines that are available are the ones to be taken, because the best vaccine for you is the vaccine you can get into your system at this point in time."