Description

Health Minister Sir Molwyn Joseph looked like Moses trying to part the Red Sea. And many of those around him were seeing red (forgive the pun) after queuing in line for hours to receive their first jab of the Oxford-AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine when Antigua and Barbuda's national COVID-19 immunization programme opened to the public on Tuesday, March 2nd. Word travels fast, and the response was overwhelming. Far more people than it seemed were anticipated turned out, creating anxious scenes at some centres which have since been widely shared.

In stark contrast, many report that inside the centres the process was smooth, orderly, and COVID protocols were observed. So what went wrong outside? Why weren't there officials to marshal the crowds? Did it matter if you made an appointment? Things reportedly got better as week drew on, and over 14,000 people have been vaccinated so far. On this episode, we went to the Cayman Islands, to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and to Austin, Texas, to find out how immunization schemes are being managed there, if they've had similar occurrences, and if lessons could be shared. The host is Kieron Murdoch.

The guests are:

1. Dr. Hazel Brown, the Chief Nursing Officer in the Cayman Islands.
2. Dr. Jerrol Thompson, an infectious disease specialist and advisor to the St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) Covid-19 Task Force.
3. Raisa Charles, an Antiguan and Barbudan in Austin, Texas, where she's Operations Chief over COVID-19 vaccine distribution with the City of Austin.
4. Kadeem Joseph, journalist and heath editor with the Antigua Observer. He holds a degree in health science.

This programme first aired on NewsCo Observer Radio 91.1 FM on March 7, 2021. Get the latest news from Antigua and Barbuda at the Antigua Observer online.