More than three weeks after the Ministry of Health announced that it ran out of the second doses for the Sputnik V Coronavirus vaccine, Health Officials are still unable to provide any definite timeline for the arrival of the second dose.
More than 100,000 persons are awaiting their 2nd dose of the Russian made vaccine. Both doses are required for someone to be fully immunized and get maximum protection against COVID-19.
The Health Ministry has however indicated that persons are still within the timeline to get their second dose. The Ministry has advised that the 2nd dose could be administered between 4 to 12 weeks after the first dose.
But many persons who have already been administered the first dose have taken to social media to complain about the absence of the 2nd dose.
The Health Minister today said there is still no definitive timeline for the arrival of the 2nd doses. He said the Health Ministry is hoping that the vaccines will arrive soon.
According to the Ministry of Health, a total of 98,635 persons have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Of that number, the Health Minister has indicated that over 59,000 of those persons were fully vaccinated with Sputnik. Last Friday, his Advisor Dr. Leslie Ramsammy claimed that the figure was about 61,000.
A total of 227,690 persons have received the first dose of the coronavirus vaccines being administered in Guyana, with the majority of people receiving the Sputnik vaccine.
The Ministry of Health has been mum on the number of people awaiting their second dose of Sputnik.
Based on figures released by the Ministry of Health, Guyana has so far received 305,000 doses of the Sputnik vaccine. With the Ministry indicating that more than 59,000 persons were fully vaccinated by the time they ran out of 2nd doses, it means that Guyana received more 1st doses than it ordered.
The Health Minister had indicated that the country ordered and paid for 200,000 1st doses and 200,000 2nd doses, a total of 400,000 vaccines.
But based on figures released by the Ministry, it appears as though the country received more than 245,000 first doses of Sputnik, representing an excess of 45,000.
The Ministry has not furnished answers to several questions posed by News Source on the discrepancies in the number of vaccines ordered and the number delivered.
While the other two vaccines being administered, Sinopharm and Astrazeneca use the same vaccine as the first and 2nd doses, Sputnik uses two different vaccines.
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