As concerned members of the public begin swarming into the nation's health centres to receive their flu vaccines, the Ministry of Health has assured that there is sufficient supply and that they are closely monitoring the supply and distribution of the vaccine to meet the increased demand.
According to a release, they typically administer 1,500 vaccines weekly. However, last week approximately 5,000 doses were administered and they expect a higher uptake this week. To date, approximately one-third of the vaccines acquired have been administered—24,000 out of the 75,000.
The ministry's release also said: “The surge in the public demand for the vaccine created the need for immediate intervention in specific health centres. Interim arrangements are being put in place to respond to this increased demand in key areas. Flu vaccine doses have already been redistributed from areas of low demand to areas of high demand.”
Former minister of health Dr Fuad Khan, however, accused Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh of causing unnecessary panic in the nation over the swine flu (H1N1) virus.
In a release, Khan said: “The Minister of Health assured the Parliament and people that a supply of 75,000 vaccine shots would be enough to care for the 1.4 million citizens. It appears that Mr Deyalsingh was either unaware or unconcerned that the majority of our citizens do in fact value their lives and their health. As such, we may now be faced with a severe shortage.”
The ministry's release, however, indicated that they arrived at that figure based on the national flu vaccine uptake patterns for the last two flu seasons.
By unnecessarily alarming the population, Khan said, Deyalsingh not only created a shortage in the vaccines but also put an additional burden on the Caribbean Public Health Agency who is responsible for the testing of the H1N1 virus.
The former health minister also accused Deyalsingh of “creating hysteria among the citizens of this country and compounded it with chaos within his ministry, and as such, in the absence of a pandemic our hospitals and their distributions chains are collapsing”.
He said Deyalsingh needs to calmly explain the situation to the public and how he intends to restore order to the system to prevent any further panic or confusion.
Who should get the vaccine:
The ministry is also advising that the following “at-risk” people should get the vaccine:
• Children aged six months to five years
• Pregnant women
• Adults over 65
• People with chronic medical conditions (such as diabetes mellitus)
• People with chronic respiratory illnesses (such as asthma)