Hon Malone made the announcement during the Seventh Sitting of the Third Session of the Fourth House of Assembly on Thursday, April 15, 2021.

The Health Minister said that of the 34,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine donated to the Government of the Virgin Islands, there is a working projection to fully vaccinate 17,000 qualifying adults before the shelf life expires.

“If we vaccinate sufficient numbers of our population not only will we be protected, but we will begin to break the chain of transmission,” Hon Malone said.

: Hon Carvin Malone made the announcement during the Seventh Sitting of the Third Session of the Fourth House of Assembly on Thursday, April 15, 2021.

More persons encouraged to get vaccinated – Hon Malone

He said the Government is boosting its attempts to encourage a further 7,848 persons to voluntarily present themselves to be vaccinated, which will pave the way for considerations to relax COVID-19 protocols and re-vitalize the Territory’s economy in the safest way possible.

The Health Minister also lauded the agreement between the Government and private medical providers, which paves the way for vaccines to be accessed from private clinics and hospitals at no cost to clients.

As the VI's vaccination drives continue, persons aged 18 and older who qualify for the vaccine are being encouraged to get vaccinated a protect themselves from getting seriously ill or spreading the COVID-19 virus if they get infected.