Stalled COVID vaccination concerns health officials

Jamaica is reporting a significant decline in the take-up of COVID-19 jabs and a “very slow increase” in full vaccination – trends that have triggered concern for health officials, with the country well shy of its end-of-March 67 per cent target.

According to Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Jacquiline Bisasor-McKenzie, only 25 per cent of the population, or 670,177 people, are fully vaccinated.

With an additional four per cent in need of a second dose for full vaccination, the country has a projected best-case scenario – right now – of 29 per cent compliance.

Only 28,793 booster doses have been administered, Bisasor-McKenzie disclosed during a press briefing Thursday.

The CMO said that St Thomas and Portland are the parishes with lowest per-capita take-up.

St Catherine, one of the largest parishes, is third in vaccination non-compliance.

“It means that if we have an increase in the number of cases, St Catherine will be at a real threat because of the density of the population and the very low level of vaccine takeup,” the CMO said.

Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton said vaccination take-up in Jamaica continues to be a challenge.

“It's concerning because the take-up has only gotten slower as persons perceive that the risk no longer exists or does not exist in a significant way as it did earlier. It remains overwhelmingly convincing that vaccination saves lives.

“People who are hospitalised and who have died are the ones who did not take the opportunity to get vaccinated,” he said.

Ninety-eight per cent of Jamaicans who have died from COVID-19 were unvaccinated while 1.2 per cent were fully covered.

The remaining 0.8 per cent were partially vaccinated.

“COVID-19 is still a threat. Even though the numbers are low, and we are happy about that, people still die from COVID each day, and there's still the vulnerability that those who have not been vaccinated will suffer from the virus,” Tufton added.

Meanwhile, director of family health services in the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Dr Melody Ennis, said 42 deaths post-vaccination have been reported, the majority of which are people 78 years and older with underlying conditions.

Eleven of the cases have been closed while the others remain under investigation.

Ennis said the closed cases were not associated with the COVID-19 vaccine.