A fundraising campaign for a Covid-19 vaccination programme has received a welcome shot in the arm thanks to the fundraising efforts of a local insurance company.

Coralisle Group Insurance has $25,000 to the Bermuda Hospital Board Charitable Foundation.

The BHB needs to raise at least $800,000 to cover the cost of the programme, which is currently providing around 500 vaccines a day.

Naz Farrow, CG’s chief executive officer, said: “CG Insurance is more than willing to support this critical operation.

“In order to prevent further spread of the virus, we recognise it’s a race to get as many residents vaccinated as possible.

“Reaching herd immunity is vital for our community and economy to be fully-functioning again.

“The Covid-19 virus has affected everything that’s important to the people of Bermuda – our personal health, our economy and our social and community life.

“Getting our lives back on track is a national priority and goal we fully support. We believe this donation is but one step that will help us achieve an end result that will lead to living safer and more productive lives for all of our residents.”

Government hopes that herd immunity – when 70 per cent of the population has been vaccinated – will be reached by the end of May.

Currently, around 1,500 vaccines are being administered each day, with BHB providing about one third of those jabs.