The Ministry of Health and Wellness is seeking to inoculate approximately 17,000 Jamaicans within seven days of the start of the COVID-19 vaccination process on the island.

Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton, speaking at the weekly online press conference on Thursday, said the Government of Jamaica is pushing to have herd immunity in the population as quickly as possible.

According to Tufton, on Wednesday, the island’s health authorities achieved 83 per cent of the targeted 3,280 vaccinations expected.

“Our aim in the next seven days is to inoculate some 17,000 persons, continuing with our priority groups, healthcare workers first and depending on how far we get in that group, then we move to the uniform officers of the constabulary and the JDF (Jamaica Defence Force), which has already started.

“We achieved 83 per cent on Wednesday and I think that’s a good achievement. It’s a commendable achievement given that this is the start of a national process and in a sense, it was a trial run if you will and we really started in a manageable way to pick up any learning experiences,” Tufton said.