Samoa Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi has reiterated his plea to the Disaster Advisory Committee to maintain their vigilance to ensure that every Samoa resident is immunised during the Mass Vaccination Campaign.
The DAC briefed Cabinet about the response to the measles epidemic at a special meeting Monday afternoon.
While the mortality rate continues to climb since the Epidemic was declared, 471 patients admitted have been discharged from the Main and District Hospitals.
A total of 679 patients were admitted since the outbreak.
The meeting heard that the vaccination programme is also picking up speed with over 32-thousand receiving their injections prior to the Mass Vaccination Campaign which started last week Wednesday.
Since the Campaign started, an additional 17-thousand vaccination have been administered representing more than half of the targeted 75,000 Samoans needing vaccination.
“We have come a long way in a matter of days but there is more to be done,” said the Prime Minister.
“We cannot afford to relax our response until everyone is vaccinated,” he added noting that the epidemic’s high mortality is the result of several factors.
For instance, compared to high vaccination coverage in Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand averaging over 90%, Samoa’s less than 50% coverage before the epidemic is a contributing factor.
“It's a telling story,” continued the Prime Minister taking note that the low coverage is also attributed to the response by terrified parents who fear for the children’s wellbeing after the incident in Savaii last year where two toddlers died as a result of negligence in the administration of vaccine injections. Two nurses have since been convicted and serving time in prison.
The DAC members include all Government Ministers Chief Executives and representatives from Samoa’s key development partners.
A total of 32 deaths have been confirmed in the measles epidemic.
Photo Govt Samoa media