By NAN Staff Writer
News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Weds. Aug. 11, 2021: As Caribbean governments struggle to make vaccines mandatory in their nation states amid a new spike in COVID-19 infections, and as anti-vaxxers protest, a News Americas analysis shows the region has received only a small percentage of vaccines to date compared to its population size.
A NAAN analysis of GAVI and other data released shows the Caribbean has so far received just over 1.6 million AstraZeneca/Oxford COVID-19 vaccines under the COVAX sharing scheme for poorer countries, new data shows. That’s for a region that is home to over 40 million people.
The following nations received vaccines as follows so far:
Dominica – 28,800
Bermuda – 9,600
Barbados – 67,200
Saint Kitts/Nevis – 21,600
Guyana – 62,400
Trinidad and Tobago – 67,600
Suriname – 52,800
Saint Lucia – 50,400
Dominican Republic – 278,400
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – 45,600
Grenada – 45,600
Jamaica – 124,800
Antigua and Barbuda – 40,800
Haiti – 500,000
Bahamas – 67,200
Belize – 100,800
Suriname – 79,200
The news comes as anti-vax protests hit at least three Caribbean countries as the region sees a spike in new cases and governments move to make the vaccine mandatory for a population suspicious of the jab.
In St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Annamay Lewis, 56, who claims she is innocent, has been charged with wounding Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves. He suffered a concussion from the incident that occurred he walked through a crowd of protestors to parliament. She pleaded not guilty in court on Monday and was granted bail in the sum of $3000.00 with one surety. The matter has been adjourned to September 15, 2021.
In Antigua and Barbuda, protests against mandatory vaccination for certain segments of the population, including in the medical field, led to three arrests and in Guadeloupe, many also protested on Sunday against the French government’s moves to make the jab mandatory.
Globally, the COVAX facility, backed by the World Health Organization and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), has delivered over 190 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to 138 countries GAVI data shows, against a target to secure 2 billion doses for lower-income countries by the end of 2021.
