Bullet Tree Falls, Cayo District, Fri. May 7, 2021– The Prime Minister, John Briceño joined the almost 50,000 persons in Belize who have been vaccinated through the inoculation program of the Ministry of Health and Wellness. Prime Minister Briceño, for a long time, had touted the importance of getting vaccinated, but ironically had not been vaccinated himself. Today, at the reopening of the Luisa Manzanero Health Centre in Bullet Tree Falls, however, Prime Minister Briceño was administered his first dose of the Astrazeneca vaccine.

Prime Minister Briceño, at the reopening of the health center, recalled the first few weeks of his administration: “How much of our families and friends were in the hospital, worried about what is going to happen to us. We knew we had to do the tough decisions to be able to get back to work, and the only way we could get back to work is by controlling the spread of COVID.”

PM Briceño thanked Minister Michel Chebat and his ministry for their timely response to the pandemic. The protocols the ministry has set in place have allowed for the incidence of COVID-19 to be drastically reduced. However, further action must still be taken. Prime Minister Briceño commented, “Controlling is one part. Now we have to make sure that we spread and ensure that as many people get vaccinated.”

Hon. Briceño noted that there is great fear of the vaccine among certain segments of the population. He jokingly said, however, that the vaccine is “just an injection.” Hon. Briceño further thanked the citizenry for cooperating with GOB’s efforts to control the coronavirus, and he underscored that it was a collaborative effort between the ministry and the populace to flatten the rise in COVID-19 incidents. Due to the combined efforts, Prime Minister John Briceño said, “Belize is just one in the twenty-one countries in the world that the United States has declared at a level 2 when it comes to the issue of COVID.” This feat, he explains, proves that Belize is on track to recover from the pandemic.