Prime Minister of St Lucia Allen Chastanet on Wednesday (April 7) extended his thanks on the island’s behalf after receiving the first instalment of AstraZeneca vaccines through the COVAX Facility.

St Lucia became the 12th Caribbean country to accept a shipment from the World Health Organization (WHO)-backed vaccine distribution initiative.

On the tarmac of the Hewanorra International Airport in Vieux Fort, Chastanet said the 24,000 doses would go a long way to bolster coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination efforts in St Lucia.

“We are thankful to receive just over 24,000 doses today through our first batch from COVAX and are equally thankful to PAHO and all the agencies who made this possible. #StaySafe #LetsKeepWorking,” he said.

St Lucia, which has so far vaccinated 22,554 persons since receiving a 25,000-shot gift from the Government of India on March 1, still faces considerable challenges sourcing more of the highly sought drugs—a plight highlighted by Chastanet in a Facebook post.

“When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out and there was talk about developing vaccines to fight infections, one of the major concerns aired especially in Small Island Developing States like ours was about the likelihood that we would not be able to access such vaccines in the required quantities,” the St Lucian prime minister began.

“International agencies shared these concerns and so COVAX was born with the aim of ensuring global and equitable access of these vaccines.
COVAX is coordinating international resources to enable low-to-middle-income countries equitable access to COVID-19 tests, therapies, and vaccines,” Chastanet added.

More than 165 countries – representing 60 per cent of the human population – have joined the COVAX Facility.

Chastanet further remarked that Saint Lucia along with her Caribbean neighbours are fortunate to be among more than 90 low- and middle-income countries eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccines through the COVAX mechanism.

St Lucia, by far the worst hit in the eastern Caribbean, has so far recorded a total of 4,304 COVID-19 cases, 124 of which remain active.

Encouragingly, 4,113 patients have made a full recovery as the island amassed 49,000 AstraZeneca vaccine doses to date.

With deliveries in Jamaica, Suriname, Guyana, The Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, Barbados, Domincan Republic, Bermuda, Dominica, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Lucia as well as St Kitts and Nevis, the COVAX Facility has shipped a collective 396,000 AstraZeneca doses to the Caribbean.

Antigua and Barbuda, which is expecting a 24,000-dose delivery on Thursday, is the last country on the Pan American Health Organization’s (PAHO) itinerary.