17 new COVID-19 cases recorded, 5 hospitalised

The Ministry of Health has recorded 17 new COVID-19 cases within the last 24 hours, and vaccination rates remain low.

Notwithstanding, Minister of Health Dr Frank Anthony continues to encourage persons to exercise caution regarding COVID-19 as Guyana continues to diagnose and hospitalise new patients.

“Over the last 24 hours, we had 17 new cases. Currently, we’re tracking 125 cases. We have in our hospitals eight persons, five of whom are in the ocean view hospital, and currently, we don’t have anybody in the ICU.”

The Minister continues to emphasise the importance of vaccination in fighting the spread of the deadly virus. About two weeks ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) would have announced an updated booster for the Pfizer vaccine.

Minister Anthony explained that the government is weighing options in procuring this.

“What they’re trying to do is make sure you have a part of the ancestral strain, meaning the original type of the virus, plus a piece of the current strains that is circulating. By presenting that to our immune system, we should have better immunity.

“So, the US FDA would have cleared it a couple weeks ago, so later on, we’ll see whether or not we’ll be able to have access to these types of vaccines.”

Available COVID-19 vaccines in Guyana include Pfizer, Sinopharm, Johnson and Johnson, and Moderna.