Health Local News News Key official says more could have been done to get more people the COVID-19 jab Emmanuel Joseph31/01/20230297 views Dr Elizabeth Ferdinand By Emmanuel Joseph Joint coordinators of the programme Major David Clarke and retired senior medical officer of health Dr Elizabeth Ferdinand confirmed on Monday that their tenure will end on Tuesday and the Ministry of Health and Wellness will take over administering COVID-19 vaccines and issuing certificates for overseas travel. “People were bombarded with all kinds of information and not all of the information was accurate. So there was a lot of false information around, and to get over that I think we didn’t do enough. We didn’t have enough finances to do the social media blasts that would have been necessary. We did what we could on a shoestring [budget] but maybe we could have given everybody more information and counteracted the negative publicity and knowledge,” she said. Major David Clarke “People were undecided and wanted more information to make the decision, especially with the childhood vaccine…they were brought in during the last phase. We did a little bit, but we didn’t do enough to allay parents’ fears and encourage them to get the children vaccinated,” added the retired top public health officer. Despite this, Dr Ferdinand reported the general success of the work of the unit which was set up in the Ministry of Health in February 2021, at the height of the pandemic, to manage the vaccination programme. “We have done a lot better than a lot of other countries, and I would say yes, we have been successful,” she declared. “When we started out we were a little rocky but I think as time went on we got better and better at the process. And as we got better and better at the process, the experience of the clients got better and better,” he said in an interview with Barbados TODAY. The programme will now operate like any other adult vaccination system. Declaring that most of those who wanted to be immunised have already been taken care of, Major Clarke explained that people would now have to go to the polyclinics if they wanted to be inoculated against COVID-19. The Ministry of Health said the COVID-19 vaccine “will be available at all polyclinics as per the weekly schedule”. “I would say I had a very enjoyable time. It was something different to do and also I enjoyed the interaction with the staff and members of the Barbados public health system and the different volunteer groups,” the army major recalled. emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb