Pfizer becomes fourth Covid-19 vaccine in Seychelles   |19 August 2021

In less than three weeks, Seychelles will receive 35,100 doses of the Pfizer vaccine from the United States government through the agency of the COVAX facility.

Pfizer will be the fourth Covid-19 vaccine to be used in Seychelles. The three others being used so far are Sinopharm, Covishield and Sputnik V.

“We are extremely thankful to the United States government for this very important support,” says the Minister for Health, Peggy Vidot.

The United States confirmed its support to the Seychelles Covid-19 vaccination programme on June 12 this year. Since then the Ministry of Health has undergone a long period of preparation to receive the Pfizer vaccines.

The Ministry of Health can now confirm that children aged 12 to 17 years will be the priority group to receive these vaccines. So far, over one thousand children under 18 years have contracted Covid-19.

Children are equally at risk, as are adults, of contracting Covid-19, especially the Delta variant, which is now predominant in Seychelles.

The Ministry of Health is encouraging all parents to allow their children in this age group to take Covid-19 vaccines as vaccination against Covid-19 will clearly protect them from severe forms of the illness and offer protection from hospitalisation and death from Covid-19.

Once the required quantity has been set aside for the priority age group, the Pfizer vaccines will be on offer, as per availability, to other age groups.

The National Immunisation Technical Advisory Group recommended the Pfizer vaccine for use in Seychelles on July 27, 2021 and the Official Gazette published the statutory instrument for emergency use authorisation on August 9.

Press release from the Ministry of Health