London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

First 10 receive COVID vaccine in BVI today

First 10 receive COVID vaccine in BVI today

Ten persons including members of the British Virgin Islands government and the Opposition were first in line to receive the first dosage of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine at the Dr D Orlando Smith Hospital this morning.

Of the 10, the government members included Health Minister Carvin Malone who was the first person to be vaccinated, Natural Resource Minister Vincent Wheatley and Speaker of the House, Julian Willock.

The Opposition members include leader Marlon Penn and Representative of the Fourth District, Mark Vanterpool.

Governor John Rankin also received his dosage as the second person in line, along with Chief Medical Officer Dr Irad Potter and Acting Chief Medical Officer, Dr Ronald Georges.

Media personality Cathy Richards became the first female in the territory to take the vaccine while the Health Minister’s wife was the second.

Premier to take vaccine next week


Following the absence of Premier Andrew Fahie not being a part of the officials leading by example in taking the vaccine, questions were raised by the media as to why he had opted out.

Premier Fahie said he wanted to ensure all the relevant persons who need the vaccine get it first, as the territory only presently has a limited number of vaccines that can reach 4,000 persons.

He, however, assured the public he will be taking the vaccine on a date to be announced for next week and invited the media to attend to witness the occasion.

“Next week I’m going to be vaccinated, allowing with due respect the Governor who has worked hard with the United Kingdom to bring the 8,000 dosages and the Minister of Health and the rest of the front line, and some other members said they want to go ahead,” Fahie stated.

He added: “I’ve made a decision to allow our front line to as many as possible, especially in the health care section to get ahead and next week I will be taking the vaccine. It’s as simple as that.”

Registration portal to come for vaccination process


In the meantime, Acting CMO Dr Georges said the health officials will be using a registration portal to ensure a safe and effective roll-out of the vaccination process across the territory.

“Once the portal is up — and it probably should be up today — they can register online. The numbers will be published very soon, they can call in and they can register. So what we’ll be doing is collecting their information and putting it into an electronic immunization register. So that means that we will be capturing all the data that we require,” Dr Georges explained.

He added: “The first week or so we’ll be doing mostly the healthcare workers and the frontline workers, after that we would be looking to open up the vaccination centres and allowing other persons to basically be scheduled to be vaccinated. So once those are open, we begin scheduling the persons who have registered to come in and be vaccinated.”

Important to register to avoid issues


Dr Georges further stressed the importance of residents utilising the portal as opposed to walking into the nine facilities across the BVI which he said will be announced in short order.

He said this measure is to minimize any chances of errors and to ensure all the correct details are aligned with the specific patient getting the vaccine.

“It’s very important for us to make sure that persons who get their first dose are able to get their second dose, so that’s why we’re taking the time to make sure that all of this is done in an orderly fashion,” he stated.

The second dosage is usually administered between four and 12 weeks, but according to the Acting CMO, it may be provided six weeks after receiving the first dosage.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×