Dr Christopher Tufton
Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton has described as good news the World Health Organization s authorisation of two versions of the AstraZeneca/Oxford COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use.
In a statement Monday (February 15), the UN health agency said it was authorising the AstraZeneca vaccines made by the Serum Institute of India and South Korea s AstraZeneca-SKBio, giving the green light for these vaccines to be rolled out globally through COVAX.
“This is good news for us, as a country, as we move closer to the introduction of vaccines in the island, as part of our COVID-19 response. We can now further seek out other sources that have these approved vaccines available, even as we anticipate the arrival of some doses of these COVID-19 vaccines manufactured by AstraZeneca in the coming weeks through the COVAX facility,” Tufton said.
Jamaica to start getting COVID-19 vaccines this month jamaicaobserver.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from jamaicaobserver.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
WESTERN BUREAU:
ST JAMES’ health authorities have revealed that the parish’s average positive infection rate for COVID-19 stands at 15 per cent, which is higher than the national positive average of nine per cent and among the highest rates in western Jamaica.
Dr Francine Phillips-Kelly, the medical officer for St James, provided the statistics on Wednesday during a special meeting of the St James Municipal Corporation, which was attended by Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton. The meeting formed part of Tufton’s visit to the region in the wake of western Jamaica becoming a hotbed for the spread of the pandemic.