By Prior Beharry
TRINIDAD and Tobago has received another 75,000 Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines from the United States of America. They arrived at the Piarco International Airport on Thursday morning.
This latest batch brings the total number of vaccines donated by the US to T&T to 684,570.
About 260,000 Pfizer vaccines from previous donations by the US expired at the end of February and had to be disposed.
A release on Thursday from the US Embassy in Port-of-Spain stated, “This donation is part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to lead in the effort to vaccinate the world, having already delivered over 400 million free, safe, and effective vaccines to over 110 countries as part of a commitment to donate 1.2 billion doses worldwide with no political strings attached.
“To date, roughly 25 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have received vaccines. This disease knows no borders and the United States is showing up, leading, and helping to end the Covid-19 pandemic.”
U.S. Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Shante Moore said, “The United States continues to donate these free COVID-19 vaccines to the people of Trinidad and Tobago, and I am pleased to see 50 per cent of the population is now vaccinated. It is a significant milestone, but we have also noted the drop in the number of persons getting vaccinated, especially among the 12-18 age group. I urge everyone to get vaccinated to help end this pandemic.”
The United States Government only donates vaccines approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
These are the same vaccines that all U.S. citizens receive and are the same doses the United States is sharing globally, the release stated.
