Covid-19 vaccination

The first drive-through event which coincides with Tonga Language week - runs from 8.30am-4pm, Thursday to Saturday at the Free Wesleyan Church Of Tonga.

As of this week, 56 percent of the eligible Pacific population 12+ years have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

Pacific Response Co-ordination Team chair Pakilau Manase Lua said Tonga is a proud nation with community spirit and hopes to capture 12-30 year-olds who are yet to be vaccinated.

It comes amid concerns raised by the Health Ministry and the public at the rate of children dying from the virus in Fiji.

So far about 10 young people have succumbed to the Delta variant, with the latest victims a six-month-old boy and an 11-year-old girl among the dead reported last weekend.

Fiji's chief medical advisor Dr Jemesa Tudravu said vaccinating children would also be a crucial factor in deciding when schools reopen

Schools have been closed since April this year.

Premiership Rugby will be following the example set by the Football Association in not requiring players to be inoculated before returning to the field this September.

The league will continue to run a full LFT testing programme as per the 2020/21season.

A Premiership Rugby spokesperson said: “Our No 1 priority has always been the health and safety of everyone involved with Premiership Rugby – supporters, players, staff and management.

The initiative was announced in public notices yesterday by the Ministry of Health.

Families with members who have not been immunised are being asked to tie any red coloured material in front of their homes to indicate to officials they need vaccinations.

"The red flags/material will make it easy for the vaccinating teams to identify households for vaccination," said the message, employing the same strategy used for the 2019 measles epidemic.

The "Do It For Samoa" campaign aims to administer the vaccine to all eligible residents in the country.

That accounts for 58.9 per cent of the population eligible to receive the vaccine,

38, 864 of the total 71, 744 are males and 32880 are females.

According to the Ministry of Health, 23.4 per cent or 28, 483 of the eligible population have taken the second jab of the vaccine.

Of the total, 14,995 are males and 13, 448 are females.

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WHO Chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said a pause would allow for at least 10% of the population in every country to be vaccinated.

A number of nations including Israel and Germany have announced plans to administer a third dose.

But Dr Tedros has warned poorer nations are falling behind.

According to the WHO, low-income countries have only been able to administer 1.5 doses for every 100 people due to a lack of supply.

Dr Tedros said that there needs to be a reversal and that the majority of vaccines should go to lower income countries.

The ministry is also looking into immunizing new mothers against the deadly virus.

Director-General of the Ministry of Health, Leausa Dr. Take Naseri, said they are looking at the possibility of vaccinating children starting from 12-years-old and breastfeeding mothers who have been breastfeeding for six months and over.

“The consideration to lower the minimum age relies on the arrival of promised Pfizer–BioNTech vaccines from the Government of New Zealand.”

A statement said as the COVID-19 virus is highly prevalent around the world and is gaining priority in the most affected countries, with changes in the volume of transport and importation.

The Ministry of Health is currently working with the support of the Government in consultation with international partners to ensure the speedy arrival of vaccinations.

We respectfully pray that the people of the country who have not been vaccinated before will continue to be vaccinated, as it will continue to include all those who are eligible.

The Samoa Observer reports the ANZ and Our World in Data survey shows only 35 percent of people have received the dose.

That is much lower than the Cook Islands (90%) and Tonga (50%) and also below the rate for Fiji (40%).

Associate Professor Siouxsie Wiles, an expert in infectious disease at Auckland University, told the Observer it was crucial to counter misinformation making people reluctant to get vaccinated and ramp up Samoa's rates of vaccination.

Dr Wiles said it was crucial to remember that vaccination is about protecting society as a whole.

The Ministry of Health reported that as of Monday, (yesterday) 1389 males and 777 females received their second jab of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

A total of 45, 908 have received their first dose of the vaccine.

Despite the uncertainties expressed by some members of the public on social media about the AstraZeneca vaccine, the Ministry of Health congratulated those who confronted their fears and were vaccinated for a safer and healthier Samoa.

The ministry has advised those who have not been vaccinated to get their vaccinations done for both first and second doses.