Caroni East MP, Dr Rishad Seecharan is urging Minister of Health, Terrence Deyalsingh, to escalate the country’s search for monkeypox vaccines beyond the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO).
Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, Dr Seecharan said the government’s heavy reliance on the World Health Organisation (WHO) and its entities for vaccine procurement did not bear fruit during the COVID-19 pandemic and should not be relied on for doses against the monkeypox Public Health Emergency of International Concern.
The Ministry of Health has placed an order for 2,000 monkeypox vaccines through PAHO and on Wednesday, Minister Deyalsingh said T&T was among the first countries to do so.
“The reason we are one of the first countries to make an indicative order through PAHO is that many countries have lost confidence in these agencies to deliver vaccines and have gone straight to the manufacturers instead,” Dr Seecharan said.
“Minister Deyalsingh’s reliance on PAHO for monkeypox vaccines has again put Trinidad and Tobago at the back of the line in order to purchase from a manufacturer. This is the exact same mistake he made in the procurement for COVID-19 vaccines.”
Dr Seecharan said T&T must make contingency plans to prevent a future outbreak of monkeypox and ensure a sufficient vaccine supply.
He suggests the Minister of Health and the Minister of Foreign and Caricom Affairs Dr Amery Browne reach out to foreign partners to secure doses and therapeutics as donations.
T&T signed on to the COVAX agreement in September 2020, however, it too was plagued by global vaccine shortages. On October 9, 2020, Deyalsingh indicated T&T ordered 462,000 doses—enough for roughly 33 per cent of the population, with 280,000 doses expected in a first tranche. However, to date, just 184,800 doses were secured, with the majority of the vaccines used in the country coming as donations from the United States, China, India and other Caribbean islands.
Dr Seecharan also criticised Deyalsingh for attempting to procure just 2,000 doses. However, on Wednesday, Deyalsingh defended the move, explaining that, given the current outbreak dynamics, the ministry is not expecting a large monkeypox outbreak. This is why, he said, the doses will be used to vaccinate healthcare workers and primary contacts of monkeypox cases.