18 February 2021
St Helena Island has been given an extremely fortunate opportunity to be able to vaccinate its entire population; whilst being one of the few places in the world with a COVID-19 free status. The Island’s stringent and extensive testing and quarantine protocols for arrivals to the Island has reinforced this status. Island-wide vaccinations will only continue to strengthen this barrier against COVID-19 by providing individual protection for all members of the community.
Prioritising Groups
The prioritisation process will be used based on how other countries are rolling out vaccinations but will be tailored to St Helena’s community needs. The order is planned to start with those being most at risk because of possible exposure to the virus (i.e. Frontline Workers), then onto the groups considered to be most at risk of contracting and/or suffering severely should there be a community outbreak of COVID-19, before finally vaccinating those identified as being least at risk.
Community Vaccinations
| Group 1 | Health Care workers, Frontline and Quarantine staff |
| Group 2 | Long term care facility residents and staff, Prison residents and staff |
| Group 3 | Extremely clinically vulnerable groups. |
| Group 4 | People aged 55 and older |
| Group 5 | Remainder of the eligible population (excluding under 18’s) |
Table 1 Prioritisation list for Vaccination Programme
St Helena’s vaccination programme aims for members of Groups 1, 2 and 3 to receive their first dose of the vaccine in March, with Groups 4 and 5 starting to be offered the vaccine in April.
If you are in Groups 1-3, the Health Directorate will contact you directly to invite you to be vaccinated. Further information will then follow for those in Groups 4 and 5 (as these groups will have larger numbers of people, the Health Directorate will let these groups know when they are able to book an appointment). SHG requests that people do not directly contact the Health Directorate at this time as the information regarding the individual groups will be conveyed when necessary.
Why is it important to get the COVID-19 vaccination?
Having the full course of the vaccine reduces your chances of becoming seriously ill with COVID-19. This has obvious benefits for you as an individual, but if you receive the vaccine it also helps the entire community. This is because reducing the risk of becoming seriously ill with COVID-19 also reduces the potential impacts on the Health Service on St Helena should we have COVID-19 cases.
If you have any queries regarding the vaccination programme, you can contact:
communitycovid-19@sainthelena.gov.sh.
SHG
18 February 2021