By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Senior Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis yesterday declared the country finally has enough vaccines to meet demand and administration of the 128,700 Pfizer vaccine doses donated by the United States government will begin as early as Monday.

With nearly 400,000 Pfizer vaccine doses expected to be donated by the US in the coming months, Dr Minnis said half the country could be fully vaccinated using that brand.

His comment came as Ministry of Health officials reported one additional COVID-19 death and 130 new cases.

“What we need now is for Bahamians to come forward quickly to take the vaccine,” Dr Minnis said after the vaccines arrived in the country yesterday.

“We need Bahamians to get vaccinated as soon as possible to save lives in the country. I say to the Bahamian people you do not have any time to wait any longer. You do not have time to keep thinking about it. The hospitals are full to its limit. Sadly, some of our people are dying and taking the shots will save your life. Not taking them can cost you your life. By coming forward quickly we can save lives, end the emergency phase of the virus, restore our economy and jobs and have more openness.”

Pfizer vaccines must be stored in ultra-cold temperatures, and Dr Minnis said the capacity to achieve this exists in New Providence and Grand Bahama.

“A phased roll-out of the Pfizer vaccine will begin as early as Monday the 16th of August and each component of the administration of this vaccine that requires specific attention will be evaluated and monitored to ensure an efficient and successful rollout as we move to increase our capacity to administer the vaccine,” he said.

Vaccine hesitancy in the Bahamas appears to be on the decline as the COVID-19 situation in the country worsens.

US Chargé d’Affaires Usha Pitts said with the donation from the US government, the country is in a position to “end this pandemic”.

“And if Bahamians will step up and get vaccinated, do their part for their country, then they can truly end this pandemic so the bulk of the vaccines gives them the number of vaccines to do that,” she said.

She said the pace at which Bahamians get vaccinated may impact the travel advisories US residents receive about this nation.

“If Bahamian people come together and bring the numbers down then they will be able to get a clean slate to travel so that’s another reason why it’s important because that, of course, is critical for the economy,” she said.

Mrs Pitts said the second and third tranches of Pfizer vaccines will arrive in time to “keep the vaccination campaign running”.

Health Minister Renward Wells told reporters those tranches will arrive in September and October. He also noted that the Bahamas will receive 57,300 Pfizer vaccine doses through the World Health Organisation’s COVAX facility.

He added that 40,000 Johnson & Johnson vaccine doses recently left South Africa for the Bahamas and are being inspected in Brussels to ensure they are among the vaccines that have been approved for emergency use.

“Our concern,” he said, “was going to be that if we had not gotten (additional vaccines) when we got it we would have had extreme challenges with our people because the people of the Bahamas has a great desire at this point in time to be vaccinated…they’ve seen the results of the vaccines in that what we are experiencing at PMH with the rise in cases, that those are with the unvaccinated individuals and they want to make sure that they are among the vaccinated persons so they are not hospitalised, they are not getting severely sick.”

Despite the positive vaccination news, officials are still struggling to deal with increasing hospitalisation of COVID-19 patients.

“We have been adjusting our circumstances at PMH,” Mr Wells said. “As you know we have another two wards that’s going to come on stream probably by next week that’s going to give us an opportunity for another 34 beds. We are moving very quickly with the contractors to ensure because they are like 98, 99 percent completed so we’re moving very quickly with that to be able to offer additional beds. But unlike the first and second wave, we have the solution to what ails us and now moreso than ever.”

The coronavirus death toll rose to 311 after an 83-year-old New Providence woman died on August 10.

The country has 16,141 confirmed cases of which 2,640 are active. Hospital cases have also increased—146 at last report—with 15 cases in the intensive care unit.