11 come on board to boost COVID vaccine army
Published:Tuesday | September 28, 2021 | 12:13 AM
Dr Alfred Dawes, medical director of Windsor Wellness Centre, says his organisation will be providing a public service as it partners with the Ministry of Health & Wellness to help deliver COVID-19 jabs to hundreds of Jamaicans.
Windsor Wellness Centre is one of 11 private entities that inked a contract with the ministry on Monday at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in Kingston to vaccinate Jamaicans against COVID-19.
Under the arrangement, the health providers will use their facilities to vaccinate Jamaicans free of cost.
The Government will pay the companies or individuals carrying out the vaccinations based on the number of jabs administered.
Dawes told The Gleaner that plans were well advanced for Windsor Wellness Centre to start administering the jab beginning early next week.
Windsor is positioning itself to vaccinate about 100 people per day, he disclosed.
With vaccine hesitancy posing a barrier to the Government’s plan to vaccinate 65 per cent of the population by March 2022, Dawes said that his health facility would be targeting those who have been hesitating to take the jab because they have unanswered questions.
“We are looking at this as a public service more than any private venture itself because of the terms and the structure. So this is really Windsor Wellness Centre playing its part in educating the public, even if they don’t come to vaccinate at our facility,” Dawes said.
Dr Devon Osbourne, chief executive officer of the Portmore Health Complex in the Sunshine City, said he plans to get started in another two weeks.
Located at the Portmore Mall, Osbourne said the health complex would be using its own offices as well as the Methodist Church building to facilitate the turnout.
He told The Gleaner on Monday that many of his clients have been clamouring for the health complex to assist in the Government’s vaccination drive.