Beautiful Virgin Islands

Friday, Jul 25, 2025

COVID-19 vaccines arrive in the territory!

COVID-19 vaccines arrive in the territory!

The 8,000 AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines which were procured by the United Kingdom has finally arrived in the British Virgin Islands.

It arrived at the Terrance B Lettsome International Airport today Thursday, February 4.

Governor John Rankin along with Premier Andrew Fahie, Health Minister Carvin Malone, Transportation Minister Kye Rymer and Acting Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronald Georges, were all part of the delegation at the airport to receive the vaccine cargo.

Speaking on the arrival of the vaccine, Governor Rankin said he was delighted the vaccine had finally arrived as he believes it will be “a real game-changer”.

“It is a very effective vaccine, it’s a safe vaccine, it protects people against the virus and the evidence also shows that it protects people from transmitting it to others. So I believe I have an effective vaccine roll out to as many people as possible receiving the vaccine, it can help our frontline workers, it can help our older population, it can help the tourism and the economy get back on its feet,” Rankin said.

“It’s a real sign of a big partnership and I certainly want to work with the Premier, the minister and the health officials in making sure that this is an effective roll-out,” he added.

Good sign of UK-BVI partnership


Premier Fahie also shared similar sentiments to the Governor, adding that the 8,000 units from the UK is a good sign of the UK-BVI partnership and adds to work that the territory commenced since March 2020.

“This also helps complement what our health team have been doing for the last few months and what millions we have spent in our territory on the people of the Virgin Islands, trying to make sure that we combat and contain COVID-19 as it is good for our tourism product, good for our health overall and our people,” the Premier stated.

12,000 more vaccines to arrive in coming weeks


He added that the territory will be receiving at least 12,000 more units of the vaccines in the coming weeks.

“With this 8,000 units now from the UK and the 12,000 units we have purchased and have already signed for last year in being proactive before we knew about this, [we’ll have a total of] 20,000 units upfront. The other 12,000 units will probably be here in late February or early March and then more units would be coming from the UK in increments of 8,000 units,” Fahie explained.

Vaccines storage provided through public-private partnership


In the meantime, Health Minister Malone said the vaccines will be safely transported from the airport to a secured storage facility which is being provided through a public-private partnership between local organisations and the BVI government.

He said; “Road Town Wholesale has basically for a very small fee donated the space with the help of the combined Rotary family. They were able to purchase the refrigeration, pay for the space for up to a year and they have invested over $13,500 with us.”

According to Malone, once the distribution logistics have been completed, the administering of the vaccines will commence and will be distributed at nine or 10 distribution sites.

The minister said the location of those sites will be announced shortly.

So far, Governor Rankin and Minister Malone have publicly stated they will take the vaccine.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
×