[UPDATED] Over 300,000 Pfizer doses arrive from US today

The US Embassy has said Trinidad and Tobago will receive a donation of 305,370 doses of the Pfizer covid19 vaccine, as part of a total of 907,920 doses to be donated to TT.

Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Dr Amery Browne said the vaccines are due to arrive at the Piarco International Airport at 8.15am on Thursday.

In a release, Browne said the arrival marks the largest consignment of donated vaccines to arrive in TT since the inception of the covid19 pandemic.

“The particulars of this generous donation from the US Government are the result of sustained dialogue, diplomacy, and negotiations involving the US government, the TT government, other Caricom member states, the Caricom secretariat, the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), and Pfizer. PM Keith Rowley, in his capacity as the then chairman of Caricom, initiated and led this effort to secure vaccines on behalf of TT and Caricom.”

Browne expressed the heartfelt appreciation of the government and people of TT to the government and people of the US.

He noted the critical roles played by Dr Rowley, US President Joseph Biden, Caricom secretary general Irwin LaRoque, CARPHA executive director Dr Joy St John, the US Embassy chargé d’affaires Shante Moore, and Ambassador Anthony Phillips-Spencer and other members of the TT team in Washington, DC.

“The TT government specially acknowledges the advocacy mobilised by the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Members of Congress James Clyburn, Maxine Waters, Bennie Thompson, and Gregory Meeks in facilitating this donation of vaccines from the US government to the government of TT.”

Rowley had announced on July 17 that should Pfizer vaccines be donated by the US, these would go to the secondary school population.

“I want to say here now that is the only covid19 vaccine with WHO clearance on the use of children from age 12, which means our secondary schoolchildren population.”

He also warned the adult population, “If there are any of you out there waiting on the Pfizer (vaccine), as long as you are not in the secondary school population, you will be waiting.”

Responding to a question from Newsday about the Education Ministry’s plans to roll out the vaccine to secondary school students, Education Minister Nyan Gadsby-Dolly said, “No difficulty is envisaged in making the required arrangements. Parental consent must be obtained for minors.”

She said there are 80,177 secondary school students in the public school system. A 2021 Unesco Institute of Statistics report said there were 92,658 students between the ages of 12 and 16.

Some parents have expressed concern about allowing their children to be vaccinated, some going as far as to say they will take their children out of the school system if it is deemed mandatory.

The Caricom Secretariat said the US government has generously gifted Caricom with 5.5 million doses of Pfizer vaccines. It said that is the culmination of efforts initiated by Dr Rowley, when he wrote to President Biden earlier this year in his capacity as Caricom Chair, requesting a supply of vaccines for the community.

It said 15 Caricom member states will receive the Pfizer vaccines, with 1.5 million doses being allocated to Haiti and the other four million doses for distribution among 14 Caricom countries. The donation from the White House also includes 3,000,000 ancillary kits containing needles, syringes, diluent and other supplies which have already been received.

The US Embassy said the donation is part of the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to sharing its vaccines with the world, and President Biden’s promise that America will be the arsenal of vaccines in the global fight against covid19.

“The nearly 908,000 doses the US has committed to donating to TT will constitute 77 per cent of all vaccines donated to TT since deliveries started in February.

"The Pfizer vaccine is the only vaccine approved for use in children as young as 12 years old.

"All the vaccines that the US government donates are approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. These are the same vaccines that all Americans can receive and are the same doses the US is sharing globally. Scientific teams and legal and regulatory authorities from both countries and the region have worked together to ensure the prompt delivery of safe and effective vaccines to the region.”

Pfizer’s Latin America president Carlos Murillo said Pfizer-BioNTech’s focus is on helping to end the covid19 pandemic for everyone, everywhere.

“That requires the hard work and collaboration of many. Due to the generous support of the US government and the commitment of Caricon and CARPHA to ensure that their citizens are protected, we will be able to accelerate access to our covid19 vaccine for the people of the Caribbean at no cost, expanding our global fight against this deadly disease.”

US chargé d’affaires Shante Moore said, “We are proud, in co-ordination with Caricom, to deliver these safe and effective vaccines to the people of TT. We are donating the Pfizer vaccine not to secure favours, extract concessions, or pursue hidden agendas. We are not imposing conditions the way other countries are doing. We are donating these vaccines absolutely free of charge. We are giving them for a single purpose: to save lives and end the pandemic.”

This story was originally published with the title "US vaccine donation to Trinidad and Tobago to arrive on Thursday" and has been adjusted to include additional details. See original post below.

The US Embassy has said Trinidad and Tobago will receive a donation of 305,370 doses of the Pfizer covid19 vaccine, as part of a total of 907,920 doses to be donated to TT.

Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Dr Amery Browne said the vaccines are due to arrive at the Piarco International Airport at 8.15am on Thursday.

In a release, Browne said the arrival marks the largest consignment of donated vaccines to arrive in TT since the inception of the covid19 pandemic.

“The particulars of this generous donation from the US Government are the result of sustained dialogue, diplomacy, and negotiations involving the US government, the TT government, other Caricom member states, the Caricom secretariat, the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), and Pfizer. PM Keith Rowley, in his capacity as the then chairman of Caricom, initiated and led this effort to secure vaccines on behalf of TT and Caricom.”

Browne expressed the heartfelt appreciation of the government and people of TT to the government and people of the US.

He noted the critical roles played by Dr Rowley, US President Joseph Biden, Caricom secretary general Irwin LaRoque, CARPHA executive director Dr Joy St John, the US Embassy chargé d’affaires Shante Moore, and Ambassador Anthony Phillips-Spencer and other members of the TT team in Washington, DC.

“The TT government specially acknowledges the advocacy mobilised by the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Members of Congress James Clyburn, Maxine Waters, Bennie Thompson, and Gregory Meeks in facilitating this donation of vaccines from the US government to the government of TT.”

Rowley had announced on July 17 that should Pfizer vaccines be donated by the US, these would go to the secondary school population.

“I want to say here now that is the only covid19 vaccine with WHO clearance on the use of children from age 12, which means our secondary schoolchildren population.”

He also warned the adult population, “If there are any of you out there waiting on the Pfizer (vaccine), as long as you are not in the secondary school population, you will be waiting.”

Responding to a question from Newsday about the Education Ministry’s plans to roll out the vaccine to secondary school students, Education Minister Nyan Gadsby-Dolly said, “No difficulty is envisaged in making the required arrangements. Parental consent must be obtained for minors.”

She said there are 80,177 secondary school students in the public school system. A 2021 Unesco Institute of Statistics report said there were 92,658 students between the ages of 12 and 16.

Some parents have expressed concern about allowing their children to be vaccinated, some going as far as to say they will take their children out of the school system if it is deemed mandatory.

The US Embassy said the donation is part of the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to sharing its vaccines with the world, and President Biden’s promise that America will be the arsenal of vaccines in the global fight against covid19.

“The nearly 908,000 doses the US has committed to donating to TT will constitute 77 per cent of all vaccines donated to TT since deliveries started in February.

"The Pfizer vaccine is the only vaccine approved for use in children as young as 12 years old.

"All the vaccines that the US government donates are approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. These are the same vaccines that all Americans can receive and are the same doses the US is sharing globally. Scientific teams and legal and regulatory authorities from both countries and the region have worked together to ensure the prompt delivery of safe and effective vaccines to the region.”

Pfizer’s Latin America president Carlos Murillo said Pfizer-BioNTech’s focus is on helping to end the covid19 pandemic for everyone, everywhere.

“That requires the hard work and collaboration of many. Due to the generous support of the US government and the commitment of Caricon and CARPHA to ensure that their citizens are protected, we will be able to accelerate access to our covid19 vaccine for the people of the Caribbean at no cost, expanding our global fight against this deadly disease.”

US chargé d’affaires Shante Moore said, “We are proud, in co-ordination with Caricom, to deliver these safe and effective vaccines to the people of TT. We are donating the Pfizer vaccine not to secure favours, extract concessions, or pursue hidden agendas. We are not imposing conditions the way other countries are doing. We are donating these vaccines absolutely free of charge. We are giving them for a single purpose: to save lives and end the pandemic.”