Jamaica is likely to achieve herd immunity sooner than expected, given the confirmations of more COVID-19 vaccines to arrive in the island.

Jamaica is set to secure an additional 121,000 doses of COVID vaccines by the second week of April, which comprise 75,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, as part of its membership with the African Medical Support Platform and 20,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine.

Jamaica secured the Moderna vaccine through a deal with its manufacturer, the US pharmaceutical giant, Moderna.

In addition, 26,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines should arrive in Jamaica in early April. Reports suggest that Jamaica has so far secured through commitments given enough vaccines to inoculate 1.5 million people.

To achieve herd immunity, Jamaica needs another one million vaccine doses to vaccinate its entire population of  2.9 million people.  Howard Mitchell, National Health Fund (NHF) chair, reports that the demand for vaccines is five times larger than the production rate.

He adds that wealthier countries had secured most of the early production noting that the slower pace of production and the shortage of cargo ships to transport are the two major stumbling blocks hampering the efforts of poorer countries to achieve herd immunity quickly.

Call for lowering COVID vaccination age to 60

A call has come from Opposition Member of Parliament (MP), Julian Robinson for the Jamaican government to lower the age for registration to receive the COVID-19 vaccine to 60. The Ministry of Health and Wellness is currently only allowing people, who are 75 years and older to register to be inoculated.

However, Robinson, who is also the Opposition Spokesman on Finance, is urging the government to lower the age to 60, as a means of boosting the take-up of the vaccine. His calls come as the Health Ministry carried out its second COVID-19 vaccination blitz last Saturday in which some 1,038 seniors received the jab people, most of whom were below the prescribed age of 75 and older.

Reports from the blitz say the day started with the Health Ministry team accepting only people 75 and older but when it became apparent the take-up would be low, they started to allow persons 60 years and older to show up and be vaccinated.

Robinson used this experience to support his call for the age limit for being vaccinated against COVID-19 to be lowered to 60.

He contended that the experience last Saturday shows, “Those 60 and over are very willing to take the vaccine right now, and the ministry should allow them to be registered and vaccinated, while it continues the public education to get more of the 75 persons vaccinated.”

Robinson made the point that if that is done, the numbers of seniors receiving the vaccines would rise significantly.

The Ministry of Health & Wellness has revealed that up to April 1, there had been 42,754 inoculations with the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, representing two per cent of the population.

Jamaica has reported 41,328 cases of COVID-19 with 622 fatalities since the pandemic began.

This fatality rate is smaller compared with other nations in the region.