The Ministry of Health recently received a donation of EC$90,000 EC dollars from CIBC First Caribbean Bank aimed at enhancing the COVID-19 vaccination campaign in Saint Lucia.

Country Head of CIBC First Caribbean International Bank, Nigel Ollivierre said CIBC remains committed to continue partnering with the Ministry of Health to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We really look forward to you being able to use the donation to continue with the program. You have been doing good work and we want to applaud you with respect to getting the vaccination programme out and getting people sensitized, and hopefully that can encourage more persons to take the vaccine.”

Chief Medical Officer Dr. Sharon Belmar-George expressed gratitude for the support of CIBC First Caribbean International Bank.

“Vaccines have been the most effective and efficient manner in managing infectious diseases. So, this is what is really going to assist us in getting 70 percent to 90 percent of our country covered and getting back to some level of normalcy. On behalf of the Ministry of Health, the Government of Saint Lucia, the people of Saint Lucia, we are extremely grateful for this collaboration. It will be used to strengthen our immunization program as we move forward to keeping our people healthy and reducing the impact of COVID-19 on our communities.”

National Immunization Manager Tecla Jn Baptiste expressed heartfelt gratitude for the generous donation and believes it will aid in getting more people vaccinated.

“This donation, of course will allow us to procure vaccines to vaccinate about 4,000 persons in our general population and indeed we are grateful for this,” she said.

The Ministry of Health encourages people to get vaccinated to protect themselves and others from the COVID-19 virus.