Suriname increases speed of vaccination due to donation of 50,000 vaccines | NOW

Suriname will significantly increase the speed of vaccination in the near future, to an average of fifteen hundred vaccinations per day. This is necessary because the shelf life of 50,000 vaccines will expire at the end of June, confirms director Rakesh Gajadhar Sukul of the Ministry of Health.

Since the start of the vaccination campaign, about three weeks ago, the counter on Sunday is more than 5,400 people who have had a first vaccination. The injection rate was very slow in the first weeks, because only a thousand doses were available.

The 50,000 dose batch is an unannounced gift from the Indian government. Suriname is happy with the donation, but has unexpectedly had to increase the speed of vaccination earlier than planned. In about two weeks, another shipment of around 25,000 vaccines will arrive. These are vaccines that Suriname has purchased through the international COVAX initiative of the WHO health organization.

To prevent more vaccines than can be processed at any given time, the authorities are now doing everything they can to encourage people to sign up for a shot. At the moment, almost fifteen thousand people have registered. They will be called up in the near future. People over 60 and people with underlying diseases are given priority.

First vaccines administered to healthcare workers

These vaccines have mainly been administered to primary care workers and other officials in critical positions.

The ministerial team and the wife of President Chan Santokhi have also had their first injection. Santokhi and Vice President Ronnie Brunswijk have not yet had an injection because they recently had COVID-19.

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