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BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, September 24, 2021 (Press Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister) – Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris used the platform of the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly to commend those larger, wealthier nations for answering the call for the equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, particularly to small developing nations.  

“I commend the international community for its response to calls for vaccine equity and I am pleased to say that St. Kitts and Nevis is just one of the many countries to have benefited from the COVAX facility established by the World Health Organisation at the start of the pandemic. I also wish to thank our bilateral partners for their generosity in providing us with vaccines,” said Prime Minister Harris, who has been one of the leading voices for the fair and equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. 

In March of this year, St. Kitts and Nevis received 20,000 doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine courtesy the Government of the Republic of India to jumpstart its vaccination programme. 

Last month, the Government welcomed the arrival of an initial donation of 11,700 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine compliments the Joseph Biden-led administration of the United States of America. 

Prime Minister Harris told the international community that it is through those contributions, coupled with the people’s commitment to adhering to the established protocols that have allowed St. Kitts and Nevis to manage the spread of the virus as well as it has to date.  

He said, “St. Kitts and Nevis has 66 percent of its adult population fully vaccinated and over 75 percent of the target population has received the first dose. We are endeavouring to improve these statistics in the near future. Our citizens responded selflessly to our calls for social distancing and adhered to other COVID-19 protocols, playing an active role in curbing the COVID-19 pandemic and helping to overcome community spread.”

During a virtual COVID-19 summit held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly this week, U.S. President Joe Biden pledged that his country will donate 500 million more doses of the Pfizer vaccine to developing nations from next year.

The 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, which runs from September 21-27, is being held under the theme, “Building resilience through hope – to recover from COVID-19, rebuild sustainably, respond to the needs of the planet, respect the rights of people and revitalize the United Nations”.