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Monday February 8, 2021 –  The Ministry of Health and Social Services on Montserrat began the process of administering the Oxford AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine on Montserrat today (Monday February 8, 2021).  474 persons have been registered to date.

Governor, His. Excellency Andrew Pearce and Premier, Hon. Joseph E. Farrell received their vaccines shortly after 11 o’clock this morning.  The vaccination process was livestreamed by the Government Information Unit (GIU) on YouTube Montserrat’s COVID-19 Vaccination Programme – YouTube and Facebook Government Information Unit Montserrat | Facebook , and also on local access cable Digicel Channel 96.

Governor Pearce described the vaccination process as a very smooth one, adding that “the decision to take the vaccine or not is an entirely personal one, as it is not mandatory but when we look at the science of our battle against this virus, it is clear that these vaccines are very powerful and effective.”

Commenting of the importance of being vaccinated, the Premier, Hon. Farrell said “I think it is so important that I take my vaccine. I know what the consequences are

of an infection from the coronavirus and as a result of that I think I need to protect

myself, my family and of course the citizens of Montserrat, with whom I come in contact with.” 

The Governor and the Premier are expected to receive their second dose in four weeks.

Common side effects from the vaccine are as follows:

Very Common (may affect more than 1 in 10 people)

• tenderness, pain, warmth, redness, itching, swelling or bruising where the injection is given
• generally feeling unwell
• feeling tired (fatigue)
• chills or feeling feverish
• headache
• feeling sick (nausea)
• joint pain or muscle ache

Common (may affect up to 1 in 10 people)

• a lump at the injection site
• fever
• vomiting
• flu-like symptoms, such as high temperature, sore throat, runny nose, cough and chills.

The first batch of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine, containing 3000 doses, arrived on Montserrat from the United Kingdom at 3:47p.m. on Wednesday February 3, 2021.