NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (August 31, 2021) – – Premier Hon. Mark Brantley is urging parents to register their children 12 years and older to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, which is scheduled to be rolled out on Nevis on Wednesday, September 01, 2021.

Mr. Brantley, Senior Minister of Health in the Nevis Island Administration (NIA) said there will be a soft roll-out of the Pfizer vaccine on Nevis in the first instance.

“Here at the Charlestown Health Centre a certain number of vaccines will be administered tomorrow and then for the rest of the week, and then next week we roll out the Pfizer vaccine at all the health centres on Nevis.

“Initially it’s by appointment only and we are hoping that our parents will certainly book their children, those 12 years and over, to come and get vaccinated. As we talk about reopening schools next week it will be absolutely critical that as many of our highschoolers as possible can be vaccinated to ensure that we have a safe school environment for them, and that we can restore normalcy to our education system,” he said.

The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is the only vaccine approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for children 12 years to 17 years.

Mr. Brantley stressed the safety and effectiveness of the latest vaccine to be used in St. Kitts and Nevis and encouraged adults not yet vaccinated to take the jab.

“It is safe for use and we encourage our people to get vaccinated. It is through vaccination as a primary response to COVID that we will keep our people safe, we will keep our families safe, so we encourage one and all to take advantage.”

He reiterated his gratitude to the US Government and President Joseph Biden and his administration for the generous donation of 11,700 doses of the Pfizer vaccine to the people of St. Kitts and Nevis. He also thanked the US government for donating hundreds of thousands of doses of the vaccine to CARICOM nations.