By Juanique Tennant

Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton has outlined a three-phased plan which should see the roll out of COVID-19 vaccines beginning in Jamaica before the end of this month.

Tufton, who was addressing a press briefing yesterday, said vaccination efforts would in the first phase be geared towards individuals identified under ‘vulnerable groups’.

The ‘vulnerable groups’ include health care workers, government officials, the elderly, members of the Jamaica Fire Brigade, the Jamaica Defence Force, Jamaica Constabulary Force, the Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA), and persons who work in early childhood, primary and secondary education institutions.

In the second phase, vaccination efforts will target individuals considered ‘essential to economic activity’, such as individuals working in the public sector, hotel industry, transportation sector, banking sector,
manufacturing sector and agriculture sector.

Then, finally, in the third phase, vaccination efforts will focus on and be accessible to members of the general public, with an aim that by March 31, 2022, a total of 65 per cent of the population will be vaccinated.

In outlining the different phases in which the vaccination plan will take place, Tufton said an appointment system would be utilised to ensure that the vaccination process is a seamless one.

The appointment system is expected to run as follows:

• Stage 1: A public appeal will be made for individuals to make appointments based on their priority grouping.
• Stage 2: Individuals will schedule their vaccination appointments five days in advance, using any of the following avenues: call centres, public health departments, website or walk-in appointments.
• Stage 3: In scheduling their appointments, individuals will be asked to provide health authorities with basic information such as age, date of birth, address, telephone number and email address.
• Stage 4: Individuals will be prioritised based on their phase grouping and other factors such as age and co-morbidity.
• Stage 5: A daily vaccination schedule will be created and three days before your scheduled appointment date you will be notified of necessary information such as the date, time and location of your appointment.

Once an individual has undergone these stages, they will then need to visit the agreed upon vaccination centre on their scheduled date to receive the first dose of the available vaccine.

A similar appointment system will also be utilised for the scheduling of second dose appointments, whereby once and individual has completed stage 5 of the first-dose appointment, they will receive a date for the second dose appointment.