The Ministry of Health and Social Development has received an additional 3,040 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from the United Kingdom.

Minister for Health and Social Development Honourable Carvin Malone said he was extremely pleased with the UK’s commitment to making sure that the Territory receives the supply of vaccines necessary to vaccinate the entire adult population.  “This is important to us because our population has been adversely affected by the COVID-19 outbreak which has claimed the lives of many of our loved ones and friends,” he said.

Honourable Malone said the message of vaccination will continue to be emphasised until herd immunity and beyond is achieved to keep the people safe.

“It is critical that we send a message that vaccination is the key way in which we are going to get our citizens safely through this pandemic. So, we urge everyone to continue to vaccinate,” the minister stated. He added, “So far 16,033 jabs have been administered, 11,266 persons are fully vaccinated and 5,064 are partially vaccinated.  We are grateful for those numbers, but we must not stop here.  We must continue to send the message that if we are going to be safe, we need to take the opportunity that has been afforded to us with this vaccine.” 

Ambassador for Healthcare to the Overseas Territories, Professor Ian Cummings who is in the Territory to offer his assistance in the fight against the deadly disease said it is a tragedy to have heard about the number of people who lost their lives or became seriously ill over the last few weeks. “I am here to see if we can help make a difference with the vaccination programme but also in preparedness for dealing with this terrible disease,” he said.

The public is notified that ‘Operation Protect Each Other’ Vaccination Drive continues this week on the Festival Grounds from today, July 27 through Saturday, July 31. Persons are encouraged to present a Government ID and wear short sleeves tops, walk in or carpool to receive their vaccine.

Individuals who have recently tested positive for COVID-19 are advised to wait 28 days from after a positive test result before getting vaccinated.

Stay healthy and safe! We will get through this together.

The Government of the Virgin Islands is committed to improving the health of the people of the Virgin Islands.