Digital vaccination management system to become operational in April
Published:Tuesday | March 16, 2021 | 4:42 PM
A digital platform being pursued by the Government to boost efficiency in the national COVID-19 vaccination programme is to become operational in April.
The Ministry of Health and Wellness today signed a memorandum of understanding with the Private Sector Vaccination Initiative, which, among other things, will see the Ministry being provided with technical and financial assistance towards the implementation of the vaccination management system.
At the ceremony, 400 tablet computers, with cases, keyboards, and screen protectors, valued at $11 million, were handed over to the Ministry for use by health workers as part of the vaccination rollout.
The vaccination management system will be installed on the tablets prior to delivery and the private sector initiative will also facilitate the training of personnel in the use of the platform.
Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton thanked the private sector for supporting the Government’s vaccination plan, stressing that collaboration and cooperation are important in fighting the pandemic.
“We have a lot of work to do as leaders in this country. We cannot face a crisis of this proportion, global in scope, significant in terms of devastation and potential and impact on every single sector, and you don’t approach it with a solution that includes everybody,” Tufton said.
The health minister said he was disappointed with the level of suspicion by some about the government’s collaboration with the private sector in its vaccination plan.
“It’s a telling tale because what it says about us as a country is that there is a trust deficit between, in this case, the private sector and the government, and it is not since yesterday, it’s coming for a long time. And there is a trust deficit frankly speaking between the government and the people,” he said.
Meanwhile, Tufton indicated that up to Sunday, 12,099 persons were vaccinated across Jamaica, representing 71 per cent of the goal.
When the figures for Monday and today are added, the health minister expects the rate to jump to 80 per cent.
The target is for 17,050 persons to be inoculated in the first week of the rollout and the country is on track to achieve that, according to Tufton.
On March 8, Jamaica received its first 50,000 doses of vaccines, donated by the Government of India, and on Monday, received 14,400 doses under the COVAX facility.
The country started administering the vaccine last Wednesday, March 10, exactly one year after the first case of the virus was confirmed in the island.
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