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BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, March 05, 2021 (Press Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister) – With more than two thousand (2,000) persons vaccinated against the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) at the end of day on Wednesday March 03, Prime Minister Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris said it is clear that the Government’s public education programme on the importance of taking the vaccination jab is resonating well with citizens and residents across St. Kitts and Nevis. 

Ina statement read during Thursday’s (March 04) Sitting of the National Assembly, Prime Minister Harris said he was encouraged by the significant increases in the number of persons going forward to be vaccinated since the launch of the Government’s vaccination programme on Monday, February 22 when some 70 persons were vaccinated.

“Mr. Speaker, the first week of the roll-out closed with 621 persons being vaccinated. The second week, which started this Monday (March 01), seemed to have gotten off with a bang. I am advised that on Wednesday this week, according to the preliminary count, roughly 730 persons – 212 on the island of Nevis and 518 on St. Kitts—turned up to get vaccinated. This is the largest number of persons on any single day to have been vaccinated, and we hope that we can sustain this high number of participation,” Prime Minister Harris said. 

Bythe end of day Wednesday, a total of two thousand ninety-five (2,095) persons were vaccinated. This represents about 6 percent of the critical age cohort between 18 and 80 years, comprising 33,236 persons or 70.4 percent of the population, according to the 2011 census. 

Theprime minister said, “This shows that our people are listening to the news and NEOC briefings, the health experts and the Ministry of Health. They know the only way to protect their lives and livelihoods is through vaccination. We have been educating them about this for a year now.  The vaccines are being provided to our citizens and residents free of cost. But they come with a hefty price.”

“Mr. Speaker, our public education programme on vaccines is effective and is bearing fruit. The last two editions of Leadership Matters devoted to the vaccination roll-out with the edition on Tuesday focused on economic recovery in the context of the vaccination programme,” Dr. Harris added. 

OnMonday, March 04, St. Kitts and Nevis received a total of 20,000 doses of the Oxford University-AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine from the Government of India. As a result, the local Government has expanded the number of health centers where persons can go to be vaccinated.