Venkat Raman
Auckland, March 13, 2021
Fiji’s Prime Minister Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama poses with officials and health workers with the first consignment of the Covid-19 Vaccine at Nadi Airport on March 6, 2021 (Photo Supplied)
Fiji has taken a small but significant step in its nationwide Covid-19 Vaccination Programme, hoping to reach all its citizens and residents, which Prime Minister Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama said was a national priority and a part of a global alliance.
The country received its first consignment containing 12,000 doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 Vaccine through the Covax Facility, a global partnership on March 6, 2021.
The government began vaccinating on March 8, 2021 doctors, nurses, health inspectors, quarantine facility staff, aviation and maritime staff, and members of its disciplined forces who have defended Fiji borders through the pandemic.
Significant milestone
Speaking at the Nadi International Airport where the consignment was received, Mr Bainimarama described it as ‘small step but an important start towards protecting citizens from a plague that has claimed more than two million lives around the world.’
He said that he would register his name on the designated portal to arrange his own Vaccination as soon as he became and urged all Fijians to do the same.
“It is important that we all register so that we can roll out the vaccines on the timeline that makes them most effective,” he said.
Mr Bainimarama was addressing a gathering of Ministers, top government officials, diplomats, representatives of UN agencies and frontline workers.
Limited Supply
“Tonight marks an important start for Covax in the Pacific, but it is just that – a start. Fiji is not a big country, yet we are only guaranteed enough vaccines for 20% of our population through Covax, and the timeline for when all of those vaccines arrive is uncertain. We have received a small box of Vaccines. We are grateful for it, but we need many more boxes to catch up to the developed nations which already have public immunization campaigns well underway. That is why we are working on a bilateral basis with our development partners, as well as with the vaccine manufacturers, to procure more safe and effective Covid-19 Vaccines as soon as we can. Fiji is prepared to pay for those doses if need be,” he said.
Safe and Effective
Stating that the AstraZeneca Vaccine has shown to be safe and it has shown to be effective, he said that it is one of three Covid-19 Vaccines that have been recommended by the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation.
“This specific vaccine has also been approved by the health boards of the United Kingdom, European Union and at least 14 other countries, including India, Australia and, most recently, by the Fiji Pharmaceuticals Board. Millions of doses of this vaccine have been administered around the world. The data shows it is reducing case numbers, hospitalisations, and deaths due to this virus,” he said.
The digitalFiji Umbrella
Like many of the other available vaccines, the AstraZeneca Covid-19 Vaccine requires two doses. Under the digitalFiji umbrella, the Health Ministry has built an online registration portal, providing the data needed to ensure a smooth nationwide rollout.
Mr Bainimarama said that currently the portal is limited to 6000 frontline workers who will receive this first batch of vaccines. The next phase of the rollout will be announced later.
“The deployment of Covid-19 Vaccines will be the most complex logistical effort in Fijian history. We have the organisational capacity and real-life superheroes within the Ministry of Health who have the experience and knowhow to lead this campaign. But they cannot achieve that mission alone. This must be a truly national effort to succeed,” he said.
Covid-Contained Country
Mr Bainimarama said that Fiji is a Covid-Contained country for more than 320 days.
“I know that we have not seen the same tragic loss of life that our friends have endured around the world. Our hospitals have not been flooded by Covid-stricken patients. The short lockdowns that we experienced last year may feel like a distant memory. But no one should forget how serious this pandemic continues to be. They certainly should not pretend it does not and cannot affect us. We must not become an island of vulnerability in a sea of safely immunised societies. The only way we can ensure every Fijian’s health and wellbeing is to see our people vaccinated along with the rest of the world,” he said.
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