The donation of 82,000 AstraZeneca vaccines courtesy the Canadian government is expected to land in Trinidad and Tobago in the coming days. 

Canada announced the bilateral agreement on Wednesday. 

“Vaccinating the world against COVID-19 is our best chance of ending the acute phase of the pandemic, because no one is safe until we are all safe. Canada is committed to doing our part to support equitable access to safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines around the world, including supporting our regional partners in the Caribbean that have felt the impacts of the pandemic acutely,” a statement from the Canadian government read on Wednesday.

“These are doses that had already arrived in Canada, but are in excess of our domestic needs. Trinidad and Tobago was selected to receive these doses based on need and the country’s capacity to deploy them immediately, minimizing wastage, and maximizing the public health impact,” said Canada’s  Minister of International Development, Karina Gould.

As it stands, Trinidad and Tobago has a small storage of AstraZeneca vaccines remaining in stock, which is reserved as second doses for people who were already administered their first shot. 

This new incoming batch will give government the chance to fully vaccinate an additional 41,000 people.