Vaccine vetting a must

Barbadians should have no reason to fear any COVID-19 vaccine that reaches our shores and has the approval of local health officials.

This is the message of Minister of Health and Wellness Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Bostic who promised that none of the emergency vaccines being rolled out in the United Kingdom and parts of the United States of America would be accepted here without thorough vetting and acceptance from the world’s most reputable public health agencies.

The Lieutenant Colonel was responding to questions from Barbados TODAY about global and, in some cases, local skepticism regarding a range of vaccines that are said to be in the advanced stages of development.

“Like with every other instance, we take guidance from the Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO) and we also have the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA)… The vaccines have to be looked at by the CDC [Centres for Disease Control] in the U.S, the WHO [World Health Organisation] and other entities before we get that guidance in terms of what we are going to do, and that hasn’t happened yet. So we are monitoring everything and then we will make certain determinations,” Bostic told reporters at the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) close out ceremony at the Ministry of Health and Wellness.

“PAHO and the WHO have been going just like any other person or citizen based on what is being said in the press, but the vaccines have to be evaluated and we are not operating under the emergency order that was issued either by the UK or the US in terms of the vaccines for emergency use, but we are waiting until all of the normal processes have been followed by the international organisations that deal with vaccines,” the minister added.

According to Bostic, health authorities are closely monitoring developments regarding “three or four” vaccines that are under the microscope of the WHO, along with a number of vaccines on offer from the People’s Republic of China.

However, the uncertainty surrounding a timeline for when an internationally approved vaccine might become available is resulting in a measured approach from local officials.

The health minister urged citizens to rest assured that the country’s decades-long history of successful immunization programmes would continue to be maintained.

“…I believe the Pfizer vaccine was given emergency approval in the U.K for example, but the United States’ CDC hasn’t looked at it as yet or they are in the process of doing so, so that is the kind of guidance that we get and that is in relation to any vaccines. That is what has happened over the years and we await that. Obviously, we know that we have a serious public relations and education campaign to mount as we have had to do in all other cases with vaccines in Barbados.

“But I think what Barbadians should feel safe about, is the fact that we have been doing this for a number of years. Our general immunization programme has been extremely successful for decades and based on the strength of that, I think they should have the confidence that when the time comes and we are ready to go, everything will be in place,” he added.

PAHO’s website noted that among the types of “potential” vaccines are inactivated or weakened virus vaccines, viral vector vaccines, protein-based vaccines, and RNA and DNA vaccines. The CDC adds that five vaccines in large-scale (phase 3) clinical trials are the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines and those developed by Janssen’s, Moderna and Novavax.

The U.S recently delivered its first shipments of the Pfizer vaccine that is expected to cover 3.2 million people, followed by subsequent two weekly vaccine distributions from Moderna. The United Kingdom is expected to distribute four million doses of the Pfizer vaccine in England, Wales and Scotland, in an attempt to quell a vicious second wave of COVID-19.

Late last week, Minister Bostic revealed that when available, as many as 60,000 Barbadians would have initial access to the vaccine and explained that a tremendous amount of logistical work is happening behind the scenes to enhance the country’s capacity to store it.

In his most recent interview, he revealed that in addition to the vaccines touted in the western world, Barbados, as recently as last week, was offered vaccines from The People’s Republic of China during a meeting that included Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Jerome Walcott and technical staff in the Ministry of Health. (KS)