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MOHW calling persons 60+ to get vaccinated 

GeneralMOHW calling persons 60+ to get vaccinated 

BELIZE CITY, Tues. Mar. 23, 2021– The Ministry of Health and Wellness is calling all persons over the age of 60 to reach out to the vaccination sites across to country to receive their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. On March 1, the Ministry began its inoculation program, thanks to a donation of 1,000 vaccines from the government of Barbados.

Those were used to give 1,000 healthcare workers their first jab of the vaccine. Shortly after, 25,000 additional vaccine doses arrived in the country courtesy of the Indian government. The remaining healthcare workers who were desirous of taking the vaccine were given the jab, and the call to register for vaccination was opened to persons over the age of 60 and persons living with some specific medical conditions.

According to the Ministry of Health and Wellness’s Technical Advisor, Dr. Natalia Beer, around 31% of persons over the age of 60 have received their vaccine, and the Ministry is calling on the public to aid in the vaccination of more of our senior citizens. Some of these persons need third- party assistance to access the vaccines, and a campaign to get the message to elderly persons has been ongoing by the Ministry.

According to Dr. Beer, there might have been some overlapping between the planned phases of the vaccine rollout. The public saw several persons not yet eligible to receive the vaccine, inclusive of teachers and media personnel, being given the first jab of the vaccine last week, but Dr. Beer said that a hold has since been placed on that phase for now.

“There was a misunderstanding, so a few teachers were called in, so that’s why you saw them there, but we know that they are ready to receive the vaccine, so we had to put a hold, so probably next week the latest, we are looking to considering opening officially the phase two.” Dr. Beer said.

She shared that since the inoculation program will run continuously, the first phases of the program will run simultaneously.

At this time, family and friends of those over the age of 60 are being asked to aid their loved ones in getting the COVID-19 vaccine.

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