Was the Pfizer vaccine privately brought into Trinidad and Tobvago?
The information was reported to Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Roshan Parasram and Ministry of Health officials by south businessman Clint Arjoon yesterday.
Arjoon, president of the Fyzabad Chamber of Industry and Commerce, claimed one company had secured and imported Pfizer vaccines into the country last month.
Arjoon, who owns the Clint Arjoon Group of Companies, made the unchallenged claim on a morning programme early yesterday.
In an interview with Guardian Media after his appearance on the programme, Arjoon said he had just been in contact with Ministry of Health officials and gave them the name of the private company he claimed brought in the Pfizer vaccine.
“I have been in communication with them right now because the information that I brought out this morning (yesterday) was not to create havoc or mischief in any way. It was nothing even on my agenda, It just so happened it was one of the questions that were asked,” Arjoon said.
“I just happened to remember that. That information came to me about a month ago.”
Arjoon said he gave the CMO the name of the company but would not reveal it to the public “until they make use of it.”
“They will act on it,” Arjoon said,
While Pfizer has World Health Organisation (WHO) approval, it still has to be gazetted and checked by the T&T Medical Board before it is legally allowed in this country.
Hours before Guardian Media spoke to Arjoon, the CMO was asked about the claim at the ministry’s COVID-19 update and called on anyone with more information to make contact with the ministry.
Parasram, while not denying the claim, said if Pfizer vaccines were indeed brought into the country, it would have been done illegally.
“It has not been imported through Government legal channels. I have confirmed with the head of the Food and Drug this morning (yesterday) that no request has been made to his department for importation and no approval has therefore been given,” Parasram said.
“So if someone brought in Pfizer, it would be through illegal channels.”
Parasram also asked for those with information on this issue to come forward.
During the interview earlier in the day, Arjoon said he knew a medical facility that brought in Pfizer jabs and had inoculated its employees and questioned why the country had not known about this. He stood by his claim when asked if it was a fact but gave no other details on the issue.
Last Saturday, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley talked about access to Pfizer vaccines by private companies and said that the Government never told the private sector they could not access the vaccines. He said that as a sovereign state, T&T was alongside others trying to get vaccines but they just were not available commercially.
He said then that there were no restrictions on the private sector trying to get the vaccines. He added that he would be the happiest person in the world if any private sector company could come forward and say they had been able obtain vaccines that were WHO-approved and properly “chain of custodied” from supplier to delivery.
Meanwhile, Parasram also said that all vaccines approved by the World Health Organisation will be approved for use in T&T.
Parasram said Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Sinopharm are already approved for use in T&T, with Moderna and Johnson & Johnson next on the list.
“We are trying to keep abreast of what is happening by WHO standards and their approval and we are considering the vaccine even before they are scheduled to come into the country,” he said.
Parasram said the medical advisory board was looking at the WHO-approved vaccines preemptively and making sure everything was okay with them.
“In the event that negotiations go quickly, we have already crossed that hurdle.
So with Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Sinopharm, we have already approved, and we are going toward Moderna and possibly Johnson & Johnson in the near future.”
With regards to the highly transmissible and deadly Indian variant of the COVID-19 virus, which was reported to be found in Venezuela, Parasram said WHO had not confirmed those reports as accurate.
“As of yesterday (Tuesday), they confirmed that the only variant in Venezuela is the P.1 variant,” he said.
Parasram said the same health measures are used with any variant that comes into a country.
The CMO is also warning to not examine this week’s low COVID-19 figures because the two holidays broke up the testing ability. The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) is closed on Sundays and public holidays.
“We are seeing some smaller numbers in the daily reported figures, we have a broken week in terms of the holidays,” he said.
“So some of the figures would be a little askew this week. I think we wait until next week, don’t let the figures be a real guide.”
He said the epidemiologic curve actually examines and notes swab dates, which gives a better indication of the figures.
“And we have begun to see a slowing,” he said, adding the country is in the second week of the State of Emergency and Parasram said “hopefully” the numbers are coming down.
“But we have to be cautious that if we have large outbreaks occurring at the same time, you can have 200 people infected at the same time, which actually creates a lot of contacts and can get that number up quickly.”
US Embassy mum on if it's using Pfizer on workers
Guardian Media yesterday reached out the US Embassy to ascertain whether it had brought in the Pfizer vaccine to inoculate its own staff and other US citizens living in T&T.
In response, the United States Embassy Public Affairs Section said the embassy “does not disclose the private medical information of its employees.”
It also said that the “Department of State does not provide direct medical care to private US citizens abroad.”
“We are committed to providing all possible consular assistance to US citizens in need overseas, including by providing information on local medical resources when appropriate,” the Embassy said.
The Embassy added that the “department employees are not required or mandated to be immunised with the COVID-19 vaccine, and anyone who chooses to receive it does so voluntarily.
Whether or not an employee is vaccinated, their health information is kept confidential.
“However, the Department’s goal is to offer the vaccine to all personnel as supply becomes available.
“This will allow the Department to advance US national security interests and ensure America’s essential diplomacy continues unimpeded.” It added, “Protecting and promoting the health, safety, and security of the Department’s workforce is our top priority so that we can continue to carry out our mission on behalf of the American people.”
The Embassy said that “US citizens travelling or residing overseas should follow host country developments and gudelines for COVID-19 vaccination. US citizens who choose to return to the United States to obtain a vaccine should consult with their state and local health authorities in order to determine their options.”