Monderna vaccine could soon be available in Jamaica - Tufton

The Moderna COVID-19 vaccine could soon be administered in Jamaica, according to Health & Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton.

Dr Tufton told The House of Representatives Tuesday that consideration is being given to adding it to the list of  approved vaccines.

He noted that the recommendation for booster shots in the UK, EU, Canada, Australia and the United States includes the use of the Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. 

Accordingly, he said, consideration is being given to adding Moderna to the other COVI-19 vaccines being used in Jamaica - AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson.

An announcement will shortly be made concerning the use of booster shots, "once we secure these volumes (of supply), hopefully in the near future," he said. 

Effectiveness

Meanwhile, Stéphane Bancel, chief  executive officer of  Moderna has predicted that existing covid-19 vaccines will be much less effective at tackling the new variant Omicron than earlier strains of  coronavirus.

He also warned that it would take months before pharmaceutical companies could manufacture new variant-specific jabs on a large scale.

Bancel said, based on the high number of Omicron mutations, the current range of  vaccines may need to be modified next year.

In contrast, public health experts and politicians have tried to strike a more upbeat tone about the capacity of the available vaccines to provide protection against Omicron.