Several Guyanese are vaccinated with the Sputnik V Vaccine which is not accepted in Trinidad and Tobago, some European countries and from November 1, 2021, the United States of America. This has forced several persons to consider getting vaccinated with the first and second doses of another vaccine to travel to these countries. However, the possibility of revaccination is not currently available.
President Irfaan Ali on Friday said while revaccination for COVID-19 is not ruled out, he will be guided by the Ministry of Health and medical professionals.
“The Ministry of Health and the technical people will have to advise on the mixing of vaccines and this will be a booster shot,” the President said in response to questions from reporters during a virtual press conference. He added that the safety of citizens is of most importance before such a decision is taken.
On the other hand, President Ali is advocating against vaccine discrimination, a campaign which he said is supported by many other countries.
At the recent 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the Head of State urged countries not to become divided based on the type of vaccines administered to citizens.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has called on countries to recognize all its approved vaccines to avoid developing discriminatory travel systems, but those vaccines do not include the Russian Sputnik V. The vaccines approved by WHO are Moderna, Pfizer/BioNTech, Janssen (Johnson & Johnson), Oxford/AstraZeneca, Covishield, Sinopharm and Sinovac.
According to the Ministry of Health, Guyana has so far fully vaccinated 241,211 adults with the WHO-approved vaccines and the Sputnik V and 17, 868 teenagers with the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.