More than half a million Jamaicans have been fully vaccinated up to Wednesday of this week. according to data put out by the Ministry and Health, 65,726 persons have had Single Dose and 433,036 received the second dose bringing the total to 500,046 persons.
A total of 1,086,928 total Doses have been administered leaving 153,099 persons to get additional shots. according to the data on the ministry’s website 4,328 shots were administered on Wednesday, with the total up to Tuesday being 1,086,928 shots in total. at the end of October, just 378,054 persons were fully vaccinated resulting in 131,992 being fully vaccinated in less than a month at a monthly rate of 165,000. At this pace by the end of the year, fully vaccinated persons could be close to 700,000 or around 30 percent of the eligible population.
Fully vaccinated persons represent approximately 24 percent of the eligible population.
Jamaica’s vaccination rate doubles in October
The vaccination rate is highest since the coronavirus vaccination program started earlier this year. In Jamaica, data from the country’s Ministry of Health show, counter to the popular view that the program is slowing.
Chart showing an increasing number of vaccinations shots administered per day in Jamaica.
In July, approximately 50,000 Jamaicans or an average of 1,700 per day, got some level of vaccination during the month, which more than doubled to 120,000 persons in August, with 131,000 vaccinations being given in September. The numbers in October are surging, with an addition of 121,000 so far and seems on track to hit 240,000 persons for the month, that would bring the total to just under one million at 980,000 or 45 percent of the eligible population who are fully or partially vaccinated by the end of October.
If the October pace continues for a few months, the country will get to 1.3 million persons or 59 percent of the targeted population by the end of the year.
Jamaica’s vaccination rate close to 20%
Just under 40 percent of eligible Jamaicans have received at least one shot of the coronavirus vaccine to date, data from the Ministry of Health shows, with the total of over 860,000 or 30 percent of the overall population.
The figure is vastly different from the lower level generally bandied about. The official data compares those vaccinated with the total population, but only individuals 12 years and over are eligible for the vaccine at this time as such, comparing the data with the total population distorts the vaccination progress made. The ministry’s data also does not appear to include persons vaccinated overseas, which would increase the level of vaccination in the country. The total number of single doses include those getting two does and that would reduce the overall numbers of persons vaccinated below 40 of the target.
In August, 120,000 persons got a least one vaccine shot, which climbed to 131,000 in September, with October pointing to a further increase, data out of the Ministry shows.
BOJ overnight rate still 0.50%
Bank of Jamaica announced the decision to maintain its accommodative monetary policy stance by holding the overnight policy rate offered to deposit-taking institutions at 0.50 percent per annum.
In announcing the decision to hold the rate Governor of the Bank of Jamaica, Richard Byles, stated, “I think it is important to emphasize that Jamaica’s financial system remains sound, well-capitalized and its current holdings of Jamaica Dollar liquid balances remain adequate. To ensure that orderly conditions are maintained, Bank of Jamaica has taken some pre-emptive measures to assure financial institutions and the public of adequate access to both Jamaica Dollar and foreign currency liquidity during this challenging period. There are a total of eight such measures, three in respect of foreign currency and five to do with Jamaica dollar liquidity.”
The central bank introduced a number of measures including the continued support of the foreign exchange needs of businesses in the real sector through direct sales to authorized dealers and Cambios, as needed. Increased limit on the foreign currency net open positions of authorized dealers by 5 percentage points.
The central bank states that it stands ready to expand the volume of foreign currency swap arrangements with authorized dealers. The stock of outstanding swap contracts now totals US$86 million.
The Bank commenced a bond-buying programme of GOJ securities on the secondary market from financial institutions and is prepared to effect early redemption BOJ securities. The Bank has so far purchased $26.3 billion GOJ instruments.
BOJ removed the limit on the amounts that deposit-taking institutions (DTIs) can borrow overnight without being charged a penal rate.
BOJ interest cuts overnight rate.
Effective today, we have re-introduced a longer-term lending facility, whereby Jamaica Dollar liquidity will be made available to DTIs for periods of up to six months. This enhances the ability of these institutions to secure their liquidity needs over a longer horizon.
We will re-activate an intermediation facility where BOJ will use its balance sheet to facilitate transactions between holders of liquid balances and others who require liquidity if needed. This facility should support a more even distribution of liquidity in the financial system in a context where institutions who could not access inter-bank loans because of the limits placed on them by lenders, can now do so indirectly with the central bank standing in the middle of the transaction.
As of 25 March 2020, the total value of liquidity assistance provided by the BOJ to the market via its short-term lending facilities and its asset purchase programme amounted to $57 billion.
“We believe that these measures will help to facilitate the smooth functioning of the credit market. Support inflation remaining within the inflation target of 4 percent to 6 percent over the ensuing eight quarters and will augment the fiscal measures already put in place by the Government,“ the BOJ governor stated.
The economic outlook, however, is characterized by significant uncertainty relating to the spread of the virus and the consequent depth and duration of the economic impact. In the near term, some upward price pressures can be expected due to supply chain disruptions and weather-related increases in agricultural prices. However, these will be offset by a sharp decline in oil prices and weaker consumer spending power, given the expected decline in economic activity. If the domestic and external responses to the pandemic have to be sustained for most of next fiscal year, the Jamaican economy will contract significantly. In this context, we expect inflation to be at the lower end of the 4.0 percent to 6.0 percent range over the fiscal year as well as the ensuing eight quarters.
The near-term outlook now, however, reflects significant challenges and heightened uncertainty due to COVID-19. Our monetary policy measures, along with the Government’s fiscal stimulus, are aimed at mitigating the impact of this pandemic on the economy and supporting a speedy recovery once the crisis has passed. BOJ states that it will continue to monitor the effects of COVID-19 on the economy closely. The central bank also indicates that it stands ready to deploy additional measures to ensure the continued smooth flow of liquidity to all participants in the Jamaican financial system and to maintain orderly conditions within the foreign exchange market. Actions the BOJ could take include a reduction of the policy rate and the cash reserves requirement,
