Revaccination not ruled out; Pres. Ali will await advice from medical professionals

While maintaining the Guyana continues to advocate for non-discrimination in travel based on the type of COVID-19 vaccines an individual receives, President Dr. Irfaan Ali has not ruled out the possibility of permitting revaccination. He, however, said that this decision would be guided by medical professionals.

Revaccination is the process of becoming fully vaccinated with another set of vaccines, even though you are already vaccinated with one set of vaccines.

This is being increasingly considered as some countries are rolling out vaccine requirements for international travelers but will not be accepting vaccines not yet approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) such as the Sputnik V vaccine that is widely used in Guyana.

During a press conference on Friday, President Ali said, “The Ministry of Health and the technical people would have to advise on the mixing of vaccines.”

He also noted that some countries have been rolling out “booster shots” which are additional vaccine doses to enhance the protection offered by the doses already received. But, he maintained that doing so must be guided by medical professionals.

At the recent United Nations General Assembly, President Ali called on countries implementing vaccine requirements for travel to refrain from specifying which vaccines would be accepted. He said that countries used vaccines that were available to them.

Meanwhile, Minister of Health Dr. Frank Anthony previously said that the health authorities would not allow revaccination since there is not enough medical studies to support the safety of this. He also stated that it is “fundamentally wrong” to revaccinate people while others have not yet received any vaccines and as such, do not have the enhanced protection from COVID-19.