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Basseterre, St. Kitts, August 19, 2021 (SKNIS): Figures from the Ministry of Health in St. Kitts and Nevis have validated the effectiveness of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in protecting against the deadly COVID-19 virus.

On Tuesday’s (August 17) edition of Leadership Matters, Dr. Cameron Wilkinson, Medical Chief of Staff of the Joseph N. France General Hospital, gave a breakdown of the confirmed cases of COVID-19 that have occurred since the start of the second wave in May 2021.

“The analysis of the data in the current wave from May 19 to August 03 shows that of [the] 558 positive cases during that period, 81.5 percent of the cases were in persons under the age of 50 with 23.8 percent in the 0-19 [years] age range and 42.9 percent in the 20-39 age group,” he said.

“Two hundred and forty-eight cases or 44.4 percent were unvaccinated adults, 113 or 20.3 percent were children who could not be vaccinated, and 101 or 18 percent were persons who were partially vaccinated. Only 70 or 12.8 percent were fully vaccinated,” Dr. Wilkinson added.

He noted that key takeaways from the figures reveal that younger persons are now being infected with COVID-19. This is in contrast with the small numbers registered in the early months of the global pandemic. Also, the vast number of confirmed cases were not fully vaccinated. This puts persons who are unable to receive the vaccine at greater risk from the virus.

“This situation can be arrested by more persons coming forward for the vaccine,” the Medical Chief of Staff stated. “If you are on the fence and hesitant about getting vaccinated, this should be the tipping point for you now.”

The Federation’s Roll Up 2 Roll Out vaccination campaign has seen great success since it was launched at the end of February 2021. At the end of the business day on August 17, it was revealed that a total of 44,479 doses have been administered – 34,176 in St. Kitts and 10,303 in Nevis. A total of 73 percent of the adult population have received the first dose, while 61.7 percent have had both shots.

The recent donation of 11,700 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine from the United States Government has made it possible for children above 12 years to be protected from the virus via vaccination.

Health officials are currently undergoing training on the proper storage, handling, and use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines before they are offered to the public. Dr. Wilkinson indicated that doses should be administered by September.

The donation was the first of three tranches expected from the United States. A total of 35,100 doses have been earmarked for St. Kitts and Nevis.