CHARLESTOWN, Nevis — Hon. Mark Brantley, Premier of Nevis, along with the other Cabinet Ministers of the Nevis Island Administration (NIA) became the first persons on Nevis to receive the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines on February 24.

The Premier, Ministers Hon. Alexis Jeffers, Deputy Premier, Hon. Eric Evelyn, Hon. Spencer Brand, Hon. Troy Liburd, Hon. Hazel Brandy Williams, and Cabinet colleagues received their first dose of the vaccine at the Charlestown Health Centre.

Brantley, NIA Senior Minister of Health, said his Cabinet is leading by example to demonstrate to the Nevisian public that getting vaccinated against the virus is safe and highly recommended if Nevis is to achieve herd immunity.

“Today is a very historic day for us because the entire Cabinet, led by myself as Premier, and certain healthcare and frontline line workers, all took the step of getting vaccinated against COVID-19,” said Hon. Brantley. “The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is what we have, and we have demonstrated that it is safe and it is the only way to get our people past this COVID-19 pandemic.

“I am delighted that all of our Cabinet colleagues have come out to lead by example and to show the population there is absolutely no risk,” he said. “We look forward to the rest of the population getting vaccinated. We know nobody is safe until everybody is safe. “We encourage one-and-all to go out and get vaccinated. Let’s fight this COVID-19 together and keep Nevis and the Federation safe.”

Hon. Hazel Brandy Williams, NIA Minister of Health, said the jab was quick and virtually painless. She encouraged everyone to make appointments at their nearest health centre to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

Several senior health professionals including Dr. Judy Nisbett, Medical Officer of Health in the NIA Ministry of Health and Chair of Nevis’ COVID-19 Task Force, and Chandreka Persaud-Wallace, Matron-designate of the Alexandra Hospital also took their first dose of the vaccine.

St. Kitts and Nevis launched its national vaccination program on February 22, from its first batch of 2,000 doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines, courtesy of the Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica.

Wednesday’s vaccinations signaled the roll-out of the NIA’s program on Nevis. Frontline workers and at risk persons are among the first wave of persons that will receive the COVID-19 vaccines.

The post Premier Brantley, other NIA Cabinet Ministers receive COVID-19 vaccines appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts — After the successful launch of the National COVID-19 Vaccination Programme on February 22, Dr. Delores Stapleton-Harris, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, said that full and effective implementation of the plan will rely on a good governance structure, given the range of responsibilities, personnel, and the responsiveness that will be demanded as the programme rolls out.

“In fact, we recognize the need to augment and support existing structures for the implementation of the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme,” said Dr. Stapleton-Harris.

“In the public health system, a vaccination programme lessens morbidity and mortality caused by infectious diseases at the population level,” said Dr. Stapleton-Harris. “The National Immunization Programme of St. Kitts and Nevis is aimed at providing safe efficient and effective administration of all necessary vaccines to the residents who indicate their willingness to receive it.

“The COVID-19 Vaccine therefore will be administered as part of this existing system,” she said. “Noteworthy also is the fact that relative to existing immunization programmes and policies the Ministry of Health makes policy decisions based on advice from the National Immunization Committee, which is subsequently implemented through community health services via the health centres within the Federation.”

Dr. Stapleton-Harris said that the National Immunization Committee was therefore tasked to support the Ministry of Health and the Health Emergency Operation Centre (HEOC) to deliver an effective COVID-19 Vaccination Programme that meets best practice and good governance.

“It is also responsible for managing vaccination procurement, storage and distribution under validated call chain conditions, immunization training, and providing communication materials about the vaccine to the public,” said Dr. Stapleton-Harris.

Dr. Stapleton-Harris noted that the strategy aligns with the World Health Organization and the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on the vaccine programme implementation.

The Ministry of Health along with the Office of the Epidemiologist will also play a pivotal role, she said. “The Epidemiological Unit will collect, analyse and public the immunization data during the rollout of our vaccine programme in the Federation, liaise closely with our regional partners such as CARPHA and PAHO, and the findings will ultimately perform further planning and policy development.”

Dr. Stapleton Harris said that the ministry intends to implement a comprehensive, robust communication strategy to guide the education campaign to inform the public and generate the expected demand for the vaccine.

“You would have noticed that such a campaign has commenced utilizing traditional and digital media to disseminate the relevant content,” said Dr. Stapleton-Harris. “Key stakeholders will be engaged to ensure success and in keeping with an all of society approach adopted at the beginning of the response.”

The post COVID-19 Vaccination Programme will rely on good governance structure appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts — Training for additional members of the Compliance and Quarantine Task Force got underway at the Police Training School on February 22.

About 30 trainees are participating in the two-week training course. It is being held in collaboration with the Ministry of Health. Sessions will cover a variety of topics including the Quarantine Act, customer service, report writing, giving evidence, self-defence and use of force, ethics in law enforcement, risk management and managing quarantine sites.

Force Personnel Officer, Clifford Govia, explained to the participants that National Security is the primary responsibility of the government and that it is part of the government’s mandate to keep people safe.

“The concept of National Security has expanded. Now we are talking about a pandemic,” said Govia. “As a result, it was necessary to recruit people to help the government enforce the laws put in place to address the situation.

“In the process of doing this, safety has to be the priority,” he said. “Not only the safety of the people you are working with, but we’re talking about your own personal safety,” said Govia. “You need to adhere strictly to the protocols in place as well. You know hand sanitising, social and distancing. That is critical, a part of the job, obviously, is customer service. That involves being able to speak to people in a courteous manner and, just as important, being able to listen to people when they are trying to explain certain things.”

Commissioner of Police Hilroy Brandy explained that the intention is to eventually replace Police Officers, some of whom were still carrying out such duties, with civilians. He said it is important to utilise all available officers to address some of the offences that are still posing a challenge. He encouraged the participants to do their best and warned them that the course was not going to be easy.

“It’s not just two weeks of relaxing,” explained Commissioner Brady. “It will be two weeks of intense training. You have to keep your head on and do your best. Everybody will not be at the top of the class, but I hope at the end when I return here in the next two weeks, that I hear from the commander that all persons are successful in passing this training.”

At the end of the course, individuals who successfully complete the programme will either be posted at quarantine sites as security personnel, or they will assist with ensuring compliance with the health protocols that were established last year.

The post Thirty students attending Compliance and Quarantine Task Force training appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.