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Health Minister says travellers with mixed vaccination can enter Guyana
Kaieteur News – Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony on Monday clarified that mixed vaccination, as stated in the updated COVID-19 emergency measures, is only for persons wanting to enter the country.
Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony.
Updated orders, which were published in the Official Gazette last Friday, outline that a person is only considered to be fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving an approved single-dose vaccine, the second dose of an approved two-dose vaccine, or any mix-and-match combination of approved vaccines administered at least 17 days apart.
The Minister made the clarification while speaking at his daily COVID-19 update. When asked if the mixing of vaccines, as stated in the orders, meant that a booster shot or revaccination is being considered here, he stated that the term does not have anything to do with the two.
“Mixing of vaccine doses not have to do with any of [the] booster shots or revaccination. Mixing of vaccine in some countries is if somebody got an AstraZeneca then they do a Pfizer… That has been a practice in other countries,” he explained.
He noted that the World Health Organisation (WHO) and other stringent authorities had recommended that countries follow the guidelines that were originally put out, that is, as an example “if you got the first dose of Astra Zeneca that you should get your second dose Astra Zeneca, if you got a first dose Pfizer, then you should get a second dose Pfizer.”
Dr. Anthony shared that those were the guidelines established, but there are countries where people have mixed their vaccines for the purpose of travelling.
“For purposes of people coming into the country if they have mixed doses then we will accept them, but we ourselves are not encouraging people to mix the doses. So I think that should be clear,” he said.
The Minister explained further that revaccination meant that a person has both doses and wants to get another because of travel purposes. Most of the vaccines available, he pointed out are acceptable to travel, but the United States, which is requiring persons to be fully vaccinated by November 8, is only accepting approved vaccines.
With the majority of Guyanese vaccinated with the Sputnik V vaccine, a vaccine which has not been approved yet by the WHO, the Minister revealed yesterday for the people who want to get revaccinated because they desire to travel, local health authorities “will have to reconsider because medically, it is not necessary to be revaccinated.”
He added that, despite being fully vaccinated, persons will still have to produce a negative antigen or PCR test to travel.
In terms of booster shots, he made it clear that at this point, the WHO has not made a recommendation.
“In some countries, they have recommended it, but the WHO has not recommended it. The WHO guidance has been that we focus on the unvaccinated rather than we give a third dose or a fourth dose to someone who has been vaccinated,” he stressed.
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