Minister of Health the Hon. Renward Wells has assured that the government is working to secure additional vaccines from approved providers, in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

He made the statement Wednesday, April 7, during the Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 Update Press Conference, one of the official avenues used to disseminate information to the public.

“COVID-19 vaccinations are now available in-country for specific priority groups. The Vaccination Campaign has been moving along successfully,” Minister Wells said during the live broadcast.

He confirmed that to date, The Bahamas has received a total of 53,600 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Out of that, 20,000 doses were received as a gift from the Government of India and 33,600 doses were received through the COVAX Facility with the assistance of the Pan American Health Organization.

The minister noted that through PAHO, The Bahamas is scheduled to receive an additional 67,200 vaccines through the COVAX Facility.

“The Government continues to work on all fronts to secure additional vaccines from approved providers,” Minister Wells said.

To date, more than 10,000 first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to Bahamians and residents. Over 1,000 individuals are being vaccinated per day and health care workers are actively working to increase this number, he added.

Vaccines have been administered at centres in New Providence, Grand Bahama and Eleuthera. Additional centres have opened to include a wider range of individuals namely teachers and staff of schools, the physically disabled, those in the hospitality industry and students and athletes studying abroad.

As of Tuesday, 6th April 2021, there were 26 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19. This brings the total number of confirmed cases in The Bahamas to 9,296. The total number of confirmed COVID-19 deaths now stands at 189. (BIS Photo/Patrick Hanna)