Given that some countries have started administering the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to their citizens, it is recommended that anyone coming to Trinidad and Tobago who has received this vaccine will still be required to take a negative PCR test before entering the country. .
The decision was announced by Health Minister Terrance Deyalsingh, who spoke at a COVID-19 press conference on Saturday. He said the policy was decided after talks with regional and international scientific bodies.
“The position we came from based on current available science, everything we say this morning is based on current evidence, things can change as more data and evidence enters. The position is that we will continue to ask anyone between Trinidad and Tobago to continue to provide us with a PCR test, ”he said.
He said Trinidad and Tobago will be able to store and distribute a COVID-19 vaccine by March 2021.
“We anticipate based on current information that if we start receiving vaccines in March, we will be able to store and distribute them,” he said.
Describing the government’s agreement with PAHO and the alliance with the Gavi vaccine to join the CVOAX facility, Deyalsingh said the ministry has since set up a local working group to oversee the county’s vaccination launch.
However, with several candidates competing in the COVAX facility, he said, the government does not know what vaccine the country will receive. As a result, he said preparations had been made to receive vaccines with varying storage requirements.
“Are we waiting to know that we will receive a vaccine that must be stored at -20 degrees and then make arrangements? Do we wait until we know we get a vaccine that needs to be kept at -72 degrees and then make arrangements? Given that time is of the essence, international supply chains will be crowded with the purchase of equipment. In the last week we decided to take care of ourselves, not knowing what vaccine we will receive does not mean that we cannot prepare “, he said.
He said the ministry has identified and isolated three freezers below zero of three degrees, which can store vaccines in the public health system. These freezers are located at the Trinidad Public Health Laboratory (TPHL), the General Hospital of the Port of Spain and at the Eric Williams medical unit. All three units, he said, are back in operation and maintained, but should be ready to keep a vaccine by January 2021.
For vaccines that may need to be stored at -20 degrees, two sub-zero freezers have been identified at Arima Hospital, he said. He added that a visit to Tobago was made last week by a representative of the working group, who determined that Tobago could receive vaccines.
For additional storage, he said, bids were launched through the North Central Regional Health Authority (NCRHA) to build a chiller at the Couva facility. The government, he said, will also purchase additional coolers, expected to arrive in four to six weeks.
“What we need to do now is build a cooler at the Couva plant. I am pleased to report that a board note to NCRHA, which will be the procurement agency for the facility, has been put up for auction and interested people have already received their packages to build the 2-8 degree cooler at Couva. We hope that all things being equal, we will be in a state of readiness by mid-to-late February with that cooler at Couva. To this end, we are also ordering more sub-zero freezers -72 and more -20, auctions for those who close on Tuesday and we hope to issue purchase orders for those next week before Christmas. From the suppliers we were told that the delivery time is about four weeks, yes or no “, said Deyalsingh.
The facilities in each Regional Health Authority, he said, were assessed in terms of their ability to receive and administer vaccines. The facilities that have resuscitation capabilities, he said, were chosen for the administration of vaccines in case of an adverse reaction to the vaccine.
Citing a statement from the World Health Organization published yesterday, he mentioned that COVAX has collaborated in four ways to produce two billion doses of vaccine.
According to the WHO, these include 170 million doses of candidate AstraZeneca / Oxford, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Johnson & Johnson for 500 million doses of candidate Janssen, an agreement with the Serum Institute of India (SII) for 200 million doses with options for up to 900 million additional doses and a statement of intent for 200 million doses of Sanofi / GSK vaccine candidate.
“In addition, COVAX also has – through R&D partnership agreements – the first right of refusal in 2021 to potentially access more than one billion doses (based on current estimates from developing manufacturing processes) that will be produced, subject to technical success and regulatory approval, by the candidates in the COVAX research and development portfolio ”, the statement states.
Deyalsingh added that the goal of the COVAX facility to end the acute phase of the pandemic, which is marked by high mortality and cases, will be achieved through the administration of these vaccines.