Browne: Government proactive about getting covid19 vaccines

Caricom and Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Amery Browne says the Serum Institute of India (SII) has said it is not in a position to accept further vaccine orders at this time.

He said this is only one of the avenues the government has explored in procuring covid19 vaccines.

Speaking at the Health Ministry’s media briefing on Wednesday, Browne addressed the issue of obtaining vaccines from India.

He said on February 4, a private-sector manufacturer from India offered Caricom member states, through the Caricom Secretariat, the opportunity to buy a vaccine called Covaxin, which has not yet received WHO approval.

“This information was passed on to the Health Ministry, who sought my ministry’s assistance to engage the Indian High Commission towards the purchase of Covishield (India's name for the AstraZeneca vaccine), because the information at that time was that it was due for approval by the WHO.

"Covishield was the vaccine which was approved on February 15, 2021.”

Browne said he conveyed the relevant information to the High Commission of India on the basis of the Health Ministry’s request, as well as writing to his counterpart in India, the Minister of External Affairs.

He said more recently, the TT Prime Minister corresponded with the Indian Prime Minister, all with regard to efforts to broaden the scope of vaccine availability beyond Covax and the African Union.

“There were some challenges with establishing communication with SII, the manufacturer of Covishield. The Indian High Commission clarified that the Indian government was in a position to assist with the export of vaccines to TT, but the purchase order must be made with the private sector, that is, the Serum Institute.

"I sought the assistance of Trinidad and Tobago’s High Commissioner in Delhi, Roger Gopaul, who was successful in reaching the SII, and unfortunately the response from them, the private-sector entity, was that SII is not in a position to accept any further orders for vaccine at this time.

"I met subsequently with the High Commission of India and conveyed this information.

"I want to make it clear that the Government of India has indicated to us that they will take all available measures, they will go the extra mile to secure the provision of Covishield vaccines for TT.”

He said there has been no offer of free vaccines from the Indian government, either directly to TT or through the Caricom Secretariat.

“The engagement via the High Commission of India has been with respect to the purchase of Covishield, in the amount of 250,000 doses.

"We’re well aware with respect to two other countries there has arisen the issue of some sort of free provision. We’ve received no correspondence or offer from India with respect to the provision of same to TT."

But he added, "Based on media reports and what has already transpired, there are discussions under way, and we would not preclude any additional provision of vaccines above and beyond what we are seeking to purchase via the SII.”

Browne said TT has been extremely proactive with respect to the exploration and acquisition of covid19 vaccines. He said he has also met with the ambassadors of Germany and France and had extensive discussions with the High Commission of Canada to support the Health Ministry’s efforts to acquire vaccines for TT.

It was because the government of Barbados received a gift of 100,000 doses of the vaccine that it was able to give this country an initial 2,000 doses, which have been used for administration to frontline health workers.

Browne explained, “With respect to the donation/gift of vaccines between the governments of India and Barbados, that was not a Caricom arrangement, that was a direct arrangement, the details of which have not been shared at this point.

"That has caused no rift between the governments of India and TT. The fact that Barbados, with an extremely serious local crisis on their shores, chose to then share that donated amount with other countries such as TT has been heralded as another sign of closeness that exists within Caricom and a sign of the strengthening regional integration.

"I don’t want the issue of the gift of 100,000 vaccines to one or two countries to preclude the reality that we are talking about the order of over a million vaccines over the next weeks and months, and during the course of 2021, that we are arranging to receive in this country.”

Browne said it was possible that in the future TT would have the opportunity to reciprocate the gift given by Barbados.

Ministry: Local distributors don't have the vaccine

In a release, the Health Ministry said that contrary to statements in the public domain, PAHO deals with member states and not third parties, middle-men or agents.

It said, “Vaccines from PAHO have always been consigned to the Ministry of Health (MoH) / NIPDEC and the same applies for the AstraZeneca vaccine. This vaccine is being supplied via the Covax facility, using the PAHO revolving fund as a procurement facility, as has been the practice for over 40 years.”

It said TT has signed off on the purchase of covid19 vaccines via the African Medical Supplies Platform (AMSP), which uses a similar purchasing and distribution philosophy to the Covax facility.

“AMSP has made available to Caricom states a block of 1.5 million doses of vaccines and has confirmed receipt of TT’s pre-order for 226,000 doses. Similar to the Covax facility, these vaccines are not consigned to any local distributor, as is also being erroneously said in the public domain. We urge the public to be wary of false information.”