MOH: No Truth To Claim Of Missing COVID-19 Vaccines

The Ministry of Health is strongly denying the allegation that COVID-19 vaccines are missing from the Couva District Health Facility. Responding to allegations raised by Opposition Senator Wade Mark, CEO of the South West Regional Health Authority (SWRHA), Dr. Brian Armour, in a statement to the media, said "there is absolutely no truth to the claim of missing COVID-19 vaccines." He said the allegation was brought to his attention yesterday by staff of the facility and that subsequent investigations were conducted and proved that this was false. The CEO also indicated that the health facilities "conduct daily reconciliations of vaccines, and that there has been no discrepancy in the COVID-19 vaccine stock." The Ministry of Health notes that as part of its standard vaccine inventory management protocol, independent audits of the COVID-19 vaccine inventory will be undertaken every two weeks at the Designated COVID-19 Vaccination Facilities. At a Press Conference this afternoon, as he expressed reasons for the Opposition's decision to boycott another Parliament sitting, Senator Mark claimed he received word of the incident from someone at the Couva facility. Last Friday, the UNC Members of Parliament did not attend the sitting of the House of Representatives, citing insufficient steps taken to guard against the spread of COVID-19, in light of the Prime Minister testing Positive for the virus. Senator Mark urged PM Rowley, who tested Positive for COVID-19, to get better quickly.