Prime Minister Dr the Hon Keith Rowley received his first dose of the Sinopharm vaccine at the Diego Martin Health Centre, this morning (Tuesday 13th July 2021).
An official statement was posted on the Office of the Prime Minister’s Facebook page, complete with a photo of a smiling PM getting the jab.
PM Rowley may be among the last of this country’s Parliamentarians to be vaccinated against COVID-19, as he had tested positive for the disease back in early April this year, at a time when Government had begun to roll out its National COVID-19 Vaccination Drive.
The 71-year-old Prime Minister originally was scheduled to take his first dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in Tobago on April 6th. He had spent the Easter holiday weekend on the island.
However, the PM had begun experiencing flu-like symptoms on the evening of April 5th. He was subsequently tested for COVID-19 and got a positive result. That had led to several members of the Tobago House of Assembly, including Chief Secretary Ancil Dennis, going into quarantine “out of an abundance of caution”. However, none of the persons with whom the PM had interacted during that weekend had tested COVID positive.
Dr Rowley spent roughly 3 weeks in isolation at the official residence in Blenheim, and continued to manage his work portfolio under the medical supervision of health care professionals from the Tobago Regional Health Authority (TRHA).
He was only able to return to full strength closer to the end of April, after finally testing negative for COVID-19 on April 27th.
At the time of the PM’s brush with COVID-19, World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations were that a person who had had the disease could not be vaccinated before some six months had passed since their infection.
However, that position has since been revised and today, Dr Rowley was able to take his first dose of the Sinopharm vaccine, manufactured by the Beijing Institute of Biological Products Co. Limited.
