The National Emergency Operations Committee has proposed 50 Tala cash reward to encourage the eligible population to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
“American Samoa has done this too and we see that there are complications if and when this is practiced but we’ll propose to the Cabinet again. However, since we’ve been carrying out this process from the start without rewarding a $50, would be better to use that $50 Tala somewhere else that’s more important for us,” NEOC Chairman, Agafili Shem Leo said during a press conference on Tuesday.
86 percent of the eligible population have received their second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.
96 percent have received their first dose.
According to Agafili, the 10 percent of the eligible population who refuse and have other reasons not to get vaccinated, is risky for the vaccinated population including the fully vaccinated people.
“On the night when we announced our recent Covid-19 positive case, those were the first people to call the office (of the NEOC) asking about the risks of this to them who have not been vaccinated so they have the mentality of wanting to stay protected, but don’t want to get vaccinated where they can get protection from the virus,” he added.
Asked whether there will be another mass vaccination campaign to be held this year for the remaining 10 percent who did not receive their vaccinations, Health General Manager, Leausa Take Naseri said no more.
“We’ll leave it to their own will if they want to stay protected or not because we’ve tried every possible ways especially our campaigns but they still couldn’t cooperate,” he added.
Photo file