GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC—Health Minister Dr. Frank Anthony Wedd said Wednesday that Guyana, through the National Public Health Reference Lab (NPHRL), is now providing the World Health Organization (WHO) with samples to help design influenza vaccines.
He told the National Assembly that the supply of the influenza samples follows the accreditation of the NPHRL last year by the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) and that the facility is now among labs in the region conducting influenza surveillance.
“So, this year, some of the samples of the vaccines made for influenza came from our lab. As you know, we take samples from every season, influenza season, and the previous season to predict what vaccine type you need in the new year.
“So, we have been able to supply WHO with samples, and so the design of the vaccine for this year is using some of the samples that we sent,” Dr. Anthony told legislators during the Parliamentary Committee of Supply, which was considering the GUY$121 billion (One Guyana dollar=US$0.004 cents) allocation from the national budget for the health sector.
The Health Minister said the ministry will administer influenza vaccines to healthcare workers and the elderly.
“Previously, we have not been giving influenza vaccinations in Guyana, but this year, we will start by also giving influenza vaccination, and we would give them first to the healthcare workers and older people in our population,” he said, adding that the Pathology Lab at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) has received GYS 170 certification and is now capable of conducting 14 histochemistry tests.
“We have at least 14 histochemistry tests, 14 histochemistry tests that we can now do at the lab, among the other things that we can do. So, for example, if somebody had a biopsy for breast cancer, when in the past, maybe just about a year ago, if that biopsy came to the Georgetown Public Hospital, they sometimes took three months to turn that sample around. So, we cannot do that within three to seven days. So, that is a faster turnaround, and we can give the person a diagnosis”.
The Health Minister said the public health sector can also now conduct telepathology and that the strides being made are all important as the government forges ahead with the National Health Strategy, which is intended to improve the quality of healthcare services in the country.
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