Trinidad and Tobago seeking covid19 vaccines from EU

TRINIDAD and Tobago is seeking covid19 vaccines from the European Union (EU).

Leader of Government Business Camille Robinson-Regis made this announcement in the House of Representatives on Monday.

Responding to a question from the Opposition on behalf of Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Dr Amery Browne, Robinson-Regis said Government is following up on an announcement by EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakidou on May 21 that the EU is developing a mechanism to share surplus vaccines with developing countries.

Robinson-Regis said communication with the EU to acquire some of its surplus vaccines will be done through correspondence by the Prime Minister and this country's ambassador to the EU, who is based in Brussels, Belgium. Dr Rowley is the current Caricom chairman.

She said even before this announcement Browne had been liaising with the EU about access to its stock of vaccines. She said he had"previously met with the European Delegation in Port of Spain and has had discussions having specific focus on equitable access to covid19 vaccines for TT and for Caricom.

"This is an extension of our consistent advocacy with member states of the EU for access to covid19 vaccines."

At the post-Cabinet news conference at the Diplomatic Centre in St Ann's on May 20, Browne said TT had received 16,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from St Vincent and the Grenadines and was expecting an additional 8,000 doses from Bermuda. Last week, Government received a promised shipment of 100,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine from China.

On May 17, Browne said Government is working aggressively to obtain some of the 80 million covid19 vaccine doses that the US will export in the next six weeks. At a news conference on that day, US President Joe Biden said the donation would include 20 million Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines that would be added to a previously announced donation of 60 million AstraZeneca vaccines.