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President, First Lady, and VP receive first doses of COVID-19 vaccines
His Excellency, Mohamed Irfaan Ali receiving his vaccine (Photo: Office of the President)
First Lady Arya Ali receiving her jab of the vaccine (Photo: Office of the President)
Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo receiving his dose of the vaccine. (Photo: Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo)
Kaieteur News – The President of Guyana, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali; his wife First Lady, Arya Ali; and Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as the government continues to roll out its immunization campaign in an attempt to reach herd immunity.
President Ali and his wife received their shots at the State House on Thursday and following their vaccination, he encouraged all Guyanese to take the vaccine once they become eligible.
President Ali also stated that the government continues to reach out to COVID-19 vaccine suppliers across the world, including the suppliers of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine, the Moderna vaccine, the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine, the Sinopharm vaccine and the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine which is currently being used to roll out the immunization campaign. Ali added that the government is also reaching out to suppliers in the United Arab Emirates.
The government’s increased effort to acquire vaccines comes in light of a global COVID-19 vaccine shortage according to the President, so they must explore every avenue. Further, His Excellency stated that the government intends to fit every Guyanese into its plan to have full vaccination by year-end. He also disclosed that more vaccines are expected to arrive shortly and in a phased manner they will be moving to different categories of Guyanese.
Also commenting was the First Lady who appealed to Guyanese to take the vaccine on her Facebook Page. She said, “After a long and difficult year, the light is at the end of the tunnel. I received my first shot of the AstraZeneca vaccine recently. I am grateful to the scientists, researchers and healthcare workers who have made this moment possible.”
“When it’s your turn to receive a vaccine, please do your duty and take it. The vaccine reduces transmission, deaths and hospitalizations. The vaccine saves lives and reduces the burdens on our healthcare systems. Do remember, however, that we are still in the pandemic. As such, we must continue to wear masks and maintain social distancing until we reach herd immunity. The end is near and we cannot let our guard down prematurely,” she added.
Also receiving the vaccine was Vice President Jagdeo. Prime Minister, (retd) Brigadier Mark Phillips; his wife Mignon Bowen-Phillips; and former President, Donald Ramotar received their first doses earlier this week.
Notably, the Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony also disclosed that former President and Prime Minister Samuel Hinds and ex-President David Granger also received their first doses. He said that the Health Ministry is currently in talks with the Parliament to have Members of Parliament vaccinated and vaccination will also be extended to members of the Cabinet.
Additionally, the government has moved on to phase two of the vaccination campaign with elderly persons 60 years and over now eligible for immunization.
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