Robust process in place to monitor COVID-19 Vaccine Inventory
Port of Spain, 13th April, 2021 - The Ministry of Health advises the population that there is a robust process in place to monitor the use of COVID-19 vaccines. The Ministry strongly denies the allegation that COVID-19 vaccines are missing from the Couva District Health Facility.
Dr. Brian Armour, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the South West Regional Health Authority (SWRHA), stated that “there is absolutely no truth to the claim of missing COVID-19 vaccines. This allegation was brought to my attention yesterday by staff of the facility. Subsequent investigations were conducted and proved that this was false.”
The CEO also indicated that the health facilities “conduct daily reconciliations[1] of vaccines and there has been no discrepancy in the COVID-19 vaccine stock.”
Additionally, Regional Health Authorities provide a stock balance report of COVID-19 vaccines to the Ministry of Health after their daily reconciliation exercise. As part of the Ministry’s standard vaccine inventory management protocol, independent audits of the COVID-19 vaccine inventory will be undertaken every two weeks at the Designated COVID-19 Vaccination Facilities. This process has already been initiated.
The Ministry of Health assures the public that the highest level of integrity and accountability are applied to all public health operations.
