By Prior Beharry
CHIEF Medical Officer Dr Roshan Parasram says you should consult your doctor before you get the Covid-19 vaccine.
This is especially for people who suffer from severe allergies.
“Normally your physician will determine if you can and cannot take a vaccine,” Dr Parasram said in answer to a question from AZPNews.com during the virtual presser of the Ministry of Health on Wednesday.
He said, “Respiratory allergies are not the kind that we speak about but having sinusitis does put you in a higher risk for other type of allergies.
“So when we speak about the vaccine in particular we speak about people who would have allergic reactions to the point that you have severe manifestations for example for people who have extreme reactions to seafood, who have rashes about your body and have difficulty breathing, those kinds of scenarios.
“So people who are prone to severe reactions to even food products we would not recommend it based on WHO’s advice as of now.”
WHO has approved the Pfizer/BioTech vaccine and has recommended that it not be given to people with severe allergies.
Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO)/World Health Organisation (WHO) Representative Dr Erica Wheeler said it was expected that the first set of vaccinations will take place in the Caribbean by March.
Dr Parasram said the Health Ministry was trying to create a data base of all the people who will be given the vaccine in the first phase
He said, “We are looking at people with NCDs (Non Communicable Diseases) at healthcare workers.”
Dr Parasram said the ministry was creating the list to reach out and to do a medical history of people before they get the vaccine.
