A consignment of the second dose Sputnik V vaccine is expected to arrive this week, Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony announced today.
“We are working to get the second dose of Sputnik V. We are expecting some within the week and once we get that, we will let people know so that those who are due for second dose can go get it,” Dr Anthony said.
The last batch of second dose Sputnik V vaccine arrived in Guyana last month and those jabs have already been administered.
On May 27, the Health Ministry had announced that no second doses are available for the Sputnik V vaccine following a delay in supplies. Up until early July, the country remained without second doses.
When the doses arrived, there was a rush among the populace to get it, but the government only administered the shots to persons who had received their first jabs in April.
The Sputnik V vaccine, unlike AstraZeneca and Sinopharm, has a second dose that is different from the first dose.
At first, the country was administering the second shot within four weeks of the first dose, but this period has now been extended to 12 weeks. The Health Minister had said that this extension is in keeping with information provided by the Gamaleya Research Centre, which developed the Sputnik V vaccine.
In the meantime, Dr Anthony is encouraging persons to get vaccinated with the first dose Sputnik V or the Sinopharm and AstraZeneca vaccines which are available.
In fact, the Minister revealed that the Guyana Government is also expecting a shipment of 50,000 AstraZeneca vaccines later this week under the COVAX mechanism.
“We do have a lot of vaccines that are available, and people, really, they have a choice,” Dr Anthony said.
