Where Is Our COVID-19 Vaccine Health Minister?

As I write the global COVID- 19 toll is as follows: 86 million cases, some two million deaths, one new virulent UK strain found in 40 countries and one deadly South African variant in six others.

While T&T remains relatively safe (260 active cases, 170 deaths) due to our early closed borders, and a mostly disciplined protocol following population it doesn’t take a crystal ball for us to know—as we did in March 2020 when the virus was coming here—that the mutations will come here too.

We can see in plain sight the damage the mutation has done to the UK where 150,000 people are catching the virus daily and over 70,000 are dead. The US reports higher daily records of over 4,000 and a death toll that has surpassed 365,400. Europe’s cases too are soaring.

Doctors and scientists say the only defence against this deadly virus, and its destruction of lives and economies is the COVID-19 vaccine.

Last week, Minister of Health Terrance Deyal singh in his health update informed the population that he had “requested more technical information on vaccines before he could determine which vaccine is the most appropriate Trinidad and Tobago.”

That’s a no brainer. The best value for money. As soon as possible.

Science tells us the mutations are affecting spike protein which occurred after a slew of vaccines were manufactured, and soon the efficacy of the vaccines could come under question.

Is Deyalsingh waiting for a vaccine that will tackle mutations? Is there any other reason to withhold the vaccine from our population? Couched in reassurance, the bald truth is that Deyalsingh was essentially telling us not to expect the vaccine soon and CMO Dr Roshan Parasram whose hands are tied regarding the purchase of the vaccines, said with a measure of desperation that “vigilance will have to be increased...including at airports...”

This implies that our current plan is to keep the borders closed and pray the mutating strain doesn’t slip in.

Countries worldwide racing against death have rolled out vaccinations in their millions to their people across the globe from India, and China who produced their own.

Arguably Americans got first dibs on their Pfizer/BioNtech and the UK have 100 million of their home-produced Oxford/AstraZeneca (sufficient to vaccinate their entire population). But Europe and Canada, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates are vaccinating millions of people despite the hypothesis of vaccine resistance due to mutation.

Now why do some nations have immediate access to vaccines, and we don’t? Who controls the distribution of vaccines? Enter GAVI Vaccine Alliance: A Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations ( CEPI) the WHO ( World Health Organisation) and UNICEF.

Together they formed the COVAX facilities working with Advance Market Commitment (AMC) the financing instrument and pledged to provide vaccines to 92 middle to low-income economies such as T&T.

Alliances of NGO’s, rich governments and financing instruments.

So ostensibly self-financing countries and economies, participating in this facility can request vaccine doses to vaccinate 10-50 per cent of their population. The amount they pay into the GAVI facility will reflect the number of doses they request and get. Those who pay more, get more.

To date, 78 high-income countries have confirmed their interest in participating in COVAX facility.

According to the GAVI website “in exchange for this commitment, the participants will be required to provide a lower upfront payment of US dollars 1.60 per dose or 15 per cent of the total cost per dose.”

Interestingly, the website says, “countries can opt-out of purchasing the vaccines should the price be twice or more than was expected.”

A quick look at the GAVI website has revealed the following which is concerning.

“Even though self-financing participants can request doses to vaccinate between 10-50 per cent of their population, no country will receive enough doses to vaccinate more than 20 per cent of its population, until all the countries in the financing group have been given their quota. The only exception is those countries who have opted to receive fewer than 20 per cent.”

I believe Minister Deyalsingh has may have analysed the financial options available for a tiny purchaser (T&T), and not only are we not going to get the vaccine soon but by the time we get it, it may not be effective against the new strain. I hope I’m horribly wrong.

Perhaps the Health Minister needs to clarify whether we are indeed within one of the 20 per cent self-financing participants, which will reassure us, and that despite his statement implying the vaccine not being forthcoming imminently, there is planning, along with hope on the horizon.