Jamaica has administered more than half a million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, as the island continues efforts to vaccinate 65 per cent of the population against the deadly disease by March 2022.

As at 4:00 pm today, the island was up to 500,605 doses administered. Of that number, some 359,675 were first doses and 139,242 were second doses. The remainder were single doses.

Since COVID-19 vaccinations began in March this year, the island has received more than a million (some 1,139,140) doses of vaccines, including from the African Medical Supply Platform, the COVAX Facility, Canada, India, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The vaccines are AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer.

“In the last four weeks alone, we received more than 820,000 of those doses. This is in keeping with the inflows we had predicted, with more to come,” noted Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton.

“The vaccines are here. What we need to do is to make good use of them. I am encouraged by the uptake over the last week and urge those who have not yet been vaccinated to make every effort to do so,” the Minister added.

As the island races to prevent illness and death associated with COVID-19, the Ministry of Health and Wellness continues to encourage members of the public to get vaccinated. To do so, Jamaicans are encouraged to make their vaccination appointments online at www.moh.gov.jm or by calling the Vaccination Call Centre at 888-ONE-LOVE (888-663-5683).

Once members of the public have their appointments confirmed, they should visit their vaccination site with their government-issued identification or a letter from the Justice of the Peace. Those due a second dose will also need to take their vaccination card.

The Ministry is also urging the public to remain vigilant in their adherence to infection prevention and control measures, notably, mask wearing; maintaining a physical distance from others; and frequently washing and/or sanitising hands.

On Wednesday, August 25, the island recorded 463 new COVID-19 infections and confirmed 22 deaths. The new cases moved the total number of infections to 64,294 since the first case was recorded last year while the death toll climbed to 1,453.