[UPDATED] Covid19 vaccine booster programme begins Monday

The Ministry of Health will begin its national Covid19 vaccine booster programme on Monday, with the first phase running until January 7, 2022.

People who are fully vaccinated with AstraZeneca, Sinopharm, and Johnson and Johnson are encouraged to visit 17 mass vaccination sites with their vaccination cards and a form of identification to get their booster shots depending on the date of their second dose of a two-dose vaccine, or full dose for those with Johnson and Johnson.

At the covid19 virtual press conference on Saturday, Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh announced mass vaccination sites at the Paddock at the Queen’s Park Savannah, Hasely Crawford Stadium, Sangre Grande Civic Centre, Mayaro Sports Facility, Hansraj Sumairsingh Multipurpose Complex in Rio Claro, COSTAATT in El Dorado, Larry Gomes Stadium, Wallerfield International Raceway, UTT Campus on Monroe Road, SAPA, South West Regional Indoor Sporting Arena in Point Fortin, Debe Health Centre, Scarborough Health Centre, Canaan Health Centre, Roxborough, Moriah Health Centre, and Port Mall in Tobago.

“We will be watching demand from Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and if we have a need to add more, we’ll add more.”

He said since boosters are recommended up to six months after the completed vaccination course, those who received the Pfizer vaccines will not be due for boosters until March 2022.

So, those with AstraZeneca would receive a Pfizer booster, Sinopharm boosters for those vaccinated with Sinopharm, and those who got Johnson and Johnson can choose either Johnson and Johnson or Pfizer boosters, while people who took Pfizer would receive Pfizer shots.

Deyalsingh said there was no incoming shipment of AstraZeneca vaccines on the horizon but with the recent acquisition of about 300,000 Pfizer vaccines, there was “more than enough” Pfizer in stock to give booster shots to those with initial AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccinations.

Chief medical officer Dr Roshan Parasram noted that on December 9 the World Health Organization (WHO) released additional approved vaccine combinations where Johnson and Johnson could be followed by either Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.

He stressed that the decision for initial Johnson and Johnson users to take the Johnson and Johnson or Pfizer vaccines was a personal choice for them to discuss with their doctors.

“If you had no adverse reactions following your first vaccination with your Johnson and Johnson, generally speaking your second dose tends to be a little bit milder in terms of the side-effect profile. You know you have tolerated that vaccine well, so in terms of safety you don’t add a new vaccine into your system at that point in time.

“In terms of mixing of vaccines, what we call heterologous, which is one type followed by another type, has been shown to be slightly more effective. But again, you have to weigh safety, you have to weigh efficacy but the choice is really a personal choice at this point.”

He said getting a booster shot was not mandatory but added personal protection, especially against new variants. And whether people get a booster or not would not affect their vaccination status as people would still be considered fully vaccinated for travel and safe zones.

He added that, so far, boosters were not recommended for children under 18 by the WHO but, a few days ago, the US used boosters on children ages 16 and 17. But since second doses of Pfizer were given in September and boosters would be needed in March, TT has some time to make that determination.

Deyalsingh said in TT, about 46.6 per cent of the population received its first doses, 654,075 or 46.7 per cent were fully vaccinated, and 39,998 got their additional primary dose. Also, 40,000 fully vaccinated people with AstraZeneca, 61,000 with Sinopharm, and 40,000 with Johnson and Johnson were eligible for booster shots this month.

He stressed that no one knew when the pandemic or the need for continued vaccination against the virus would end as new information continued to emerge, the virus continued to change, and it continued to be transmitted as people moved around and congregated.

“We need all countries to get their vaccination rates. Why? Because the higher your vaccination rates, the best chance of new variants emerging as we see with omicron. Omicron came about partially because a particular area was relatively unvaccinated.”

This story has been updated with additional details. The original story is published below.

The Ministry of Health will begin its covid19 booster programme on Monday, with its first phase running until January 7, 2022.

People who are fully vaccinated with AstraZeneca, Sinopharm, and Johnson and Johnson are encouraged to visit 17 mass vaccination sites in TT to get their booster shots.

Since boosters are recommended up to six months after the completed vaccination course, those who received the Pfizer vaccines will not be due for boosters until March 2022.

At the covid19 virtual press conference on Saturday, Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh explained those with AstraZeneca would be receiving a Pfizer booster, Sinopharm would receive Sinopharm boosters, Johnson and Johnson would be able to choose either Johnson and Johnson or Pfizer boosters, and Pfizer would receive Pfizer booster shots.