The Caribbean part of the Kingdom is ready to start with vaccination against CO­VID-19 around February 15, as planned. The National Institute of Public Health and the Envi­ronment RIVM is preparing the first transport of the vaccines.

Dutch State Secretary of Public Health, Welfare and Sport Paul Blokhuis announced this in a press release on Tuesday evening. For Saba and St. Eustatius, it con­cerns the first batch of the Mod­erna vaccine. Bonaire, Aruba, Curacao and St. Maarten will receive the BioNTech/ Pfizer vaccine in the first phase.

Curacao Minister of Pub­lic Health Zita Jesus-Leito, Aruba Minister of Public Health Dangui Oduber, St. Maarten Minister of Public Health Richard Pan­nefiek and State Secretary Blokhuis confirmed during their four-country consul­tation this week that they want to offer all adults in the Dutch Caribbean the opportunity to get vaccinat­ed against COVID-19.

They said the involved au­thorities have been work­ing very hard, together with vaccination delegate Marc Sprenger, to be ready on the islands for the ex­ecution of the vaccination campaign and that it was very hopeful that the first batches of the vaccines can be delivered around Febru­ary 15.

“For the Caribbean part of the Kingdom this means that there is an extra per­spective to end the corona-virus crisis. The objective is to have the vaccination campaign concluded on all islands before the start of the hurricane season.”

On Blokhuis’ order, vac­cination delegate Sprenger, a former director-general of the RIVM, assists the Dutch Caribbean islands to start the vaccination in a timely manner. The vac­cination delegate, together with the RIVM, has visited all six islands to discuss the progress with all local au­thorities.

The necessary equip­ment has been delivered and the involved person­nel have been trained in the so-called cold chain and vaccine management. Sprenger and the RIVM have defined a number of action points per island. When these have been complied with, the vaccina­tion programmes will kick off.

In Bonaire, Curacao, Aru­ba and St. Maarten, in the first phase of the vaccina­tion the BioNTech/Pfizer will be offered to health care workers and persons over the age of 60. To work as efficiently as possible and to limit the waste of the vaccine to a minimum, the Moderna vaccine will be of­fered simultaneously to all adults in St. Eustatius and Saba.

For the first phase, the vaccines will be delivered and distributed in different batches, Blokhuis conclud­ed the press release. The cost of the vaccines, the transport and equipment for the entire Dutch Carib­bean is being carried by the Dutch government.

The Daily Herald.