Health Minister takes COVID-19 vaccine

Last Updated on Tuesday, 6 April 2021, 16:38 by Denis Chabrol

Health Minister Dr. Frank Anthony on Tuesday took the coronavirus vaccine in a move he hoped would help boost the confidence of thousands of Guyanese to take the jab to avoid falling seriously ill or dying.

“I had been getting a lot of requests. People feel that I am hesitant to take the vaccine so I want to dispel that myth and ensure that people can see that I have taken the vaccine and now if that was preventing them from getting theirs, that they can come on board and get theirs,” he said when asked by News-Talk Radio Guyana 103.1 FM/ Demerara Waves Online News.

He said he took weeks to be vaccinated because he had wanted to ensure most frontline workers first got their jab. Since then, he said more vaccines have arrived and even more are expected

At about 10:05 AM , he was inoculated with the Russian-made Sputnik-V vaccine at his office.

At the Health Ministry, hundreds of persons braved heavy rain to be vaccinated. They were being processed by soldiers of the Guyana Defence Force and student nurses under huge tents in the compound.

Dr. Anthony again reminded Guyanese that the vaccine “prevents you from getting the more severe form of the disease and even if you do get infected, you’ll get a milder form of the disease so these vaccines make a big difference.”

The Health Ministry sought to dispel concerns among people who doubt the efficacy and safety of the jabs, saying that thousands persons have participated in clinical trials and have been administered to millions of persons without any adverse side effects except for fever and headaches being experienced by some.

Also taking the vaccine on Tuesday were the Health Minister’s wife, Dr. Shanti Singh; Adviser to the Minister of Health, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy and the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Mr. Malcolm Watkins.