Second time’s the charm for the Ministry of Health and Wellness, as its vaccination blitz met and later surpassed the inoculation target of 1,000 Jamaicans on Saturday (April 3).

Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton, sharing a statement from the ministry on Sunday, said that 1,038 Jamaicans received the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine in the National Arena.

The programme was initially opened to persons aged 75 years and older as well as members of the Jamaica Fire Brigade. It was later offered to persons 60 years and older after a surplus was identified.

“At the close of the vaccination session, some 1,038 persons were inoculated with their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by AstraZeneca,” the ministry statement explained.

The second blitz owes its success to a different approach, according to the ministry, which marked the introduction of community-based intervention to shore up participation among vaccine-hesitant elderly Jamaicans.

To this end, five Kingston and St Andrew area Members of Parliament (MPs) mobilised their older, vulnerable constituents to get vaccinated.

“Moving forward, the ministry will be working with the Electoral Office of Jamaica, MPs and councillors to assist with the identification, registration and movement of targeted groups to the relevant vaccination sites,” the health minister added.

It is a welcomed outcome from the first blitz held at the National Arena last Saturday (March 27), which saw only 662 registrations, and 647 persons being vaccinated.

As at April 1, some 42,754 Jamaicans or roughly two per cent of the island’s population have received their first of two AstraZeneca shots.

Buoyed by the revised vaccination approach, the ministry said its blitz will be roll-out islandwide next Saturday, April 10. A vaccination blitz location for the parish of Westmoreland, however, was not yet listed.

See locations and corresponding parishes listed below: