FAQ – Vaccination Program Roll Out

The vaccine stimulates the body’s natural defences by causing the body to produce anti-bodies and
killer cells against the virus.

It is made from a weakened version of a common cold virus (known as an adenovirus) from chimpanzees. It has been modified to look more like coronavirus – although it can’t cause illness. Once injected, it teaches the body’s immune system how to fight the real virus, should it need to

The approved vaccines require two doses to provide the best protection against COVID-19.

The World Health Organization says giving two doses 8-12 weeks apart increases the vaccine’s effectiveness and provides greater protection.

The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine offers good protection against the ‘Kent’ variant now dominant in the UK as it does against the original virus.

Under normal circumstances, making a vaccine can take up to 10–15 years. This is because of the complexity of vaccine development. However, Researchers were not starting from scratch when they learned about SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. This meant scientists had existing data on the structure, genome, and life cycle of this type of virus. Amid a global pandemic, time was a luxury the world could not afford. Researchers quickly mobilized to share their coronavirus data with other scientists.

Funding from governments and the private sector facilitated an accelerated timetable.

Vaccines are given to the most vulnerable first. A list of high-priority groups – covering up to 99% of
those most at risk of dying – is being followed. The first priority group is healthcare workers.
All persons above the age of 18, with the EXCEPTION of pregnant/ breastfeeding women and
persons who have severe allergic reactions to ingredients of the vaccine, should be vaccinated.

‘Herd immunity’, also known as ‘population immunity’, is the indirect protection from an infectious disease that happens when a population is immune either through vaccination or immunity developed through previous infection. WHO supports achieving ‘herd immunity’ through vaccination, not by allowing a disease to spread through any segment of the population, as this would result in unnecessary cases and deaths.

Herd immunity against COVID-19 should be achieved by protecting people through vaccination, not by exposing them to the pathogen that causes the disease.

When you and nearly everyone else in your community is immune to a contagious disease or virus through vaccination, it cannot spread easily. Together, we can prevent the virus from reaching those who cannot be vaccinated against it.

Enough of us can protect the few. 80% of us can protect the 20% of you. Join the 80%.

The Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment has identified a combination of fixed and mass vaccination sites. The fixed sites are convenient for specific populations based on where they work or the institution in which they reside: health care professionals at MSJMC, the armed forces at Defense Force and Coast Guard facilities, Fiennes Institute, The Care Project, Her Majesty’s Prison, Clarevue Psychiatric Hospital and the Hanna Thomas Hospital in Barbuda.

To secure adherence to COVID-19 protocols, a number of highly ventilated areas have been identified for the mass registration to administer the vaccine to include, but not limited to, designated playing fields and the multi-purpose complex.