CARIBBEAN COUNTRIES ASK WEALTHY NATIONS TO SHARE VACCINE

  • 27/02/2021

The 15-country Caribbean Community has asked wealthy nations to share their supply of Covid-19 vaccines, saying their economies won’t be able to recover from the pandemic without them.In a statement issued , CARICOM said it was “dissatisfied and deeply concerned about the inequitable access to vaccines” it was facing.

While members states belong to the World Health Organizations’ COVAX Facility, the only vaccines received so far have been 170,000 shots that the government of India donated to Dominica and Barbados, the group said. Those two nations have been sharing their supply with other CARICOM members.Even with the addition of the COVAX vaccines, CARICOM will only be able to cover about 20% of its needs.In a not-so subtle reference to the U.S. and Europe, CARICOM said that nations that drive tourism in the Caribbean -- and host the Caribbean diaspora -- should share their shots “given the immediacy of the need.”

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