(Antigua Observer) Residents who remain hesitant to take the Covid-19 vaccines currently available on island may have a hard choice to make in the near future, following word that the vaccines manufactured by US pharmaceutical companies may not be available for purchase until at least 2022.
The vaccines manufactured by Johnson & Johnson, Moderna and Pfizer have received Emergency Use Listing from the World Health Organization (WHO) and are being used across the US in their mass vaccination campaign.
A full dosage of the latter two is said to provide over 90 percent protection against the original Covid-19 virus, in comparison to the AstraZeneca vaccine which reportedly provides just over 80 percent protection with the maximum time between the two doses.
In countries like Antigua and Barbuda that have had to acquire vaccines primarily through the COVAX facility, the AstraZeneca vaccine is the one being widely used in the public vaccination programme.
