The Ministry of Health has announced that the milestone of 24,000 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered to the population of Vanuatu.
This was successfully achieved on July 22, 2021
The 24,000 doses were the first batch of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines that were ordered by the Vanuatu Government through the COVAX facility, that arrived in April and launched on 2 June.
In total the Vanuatu Government, through the Ministry of Health, has ordered over 100,000 doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines that will be arriving in batches due to high global demand for vaccines.
The Ministry of Health says it has been committed to ensure all AstraZeneca vaccine doses are used before they expire on August 31 this year.
Since beginning of the vaccine rollout on 2 June, the AstraZeneca vaccines have been administered to priority groups in Port Vila and rural communities on Efate and offshore islands.
Vaccines targeted the initial priority groups, that includes healthcare workers, other frontline workers, the elderly, those with comorbidities and eventually opening up to all 18 years and above.
To date, 8 per cent of Vanuatu’s total population has been vaccinated with the 24,000 doses as part of the vaccination campaign currently ongoing in Shefa Province and soon to be rolled out in Sanma in August as planned by the government.
The Ministry of Health stated in a statement that are ongoing bilateral discussions with countries to support donating vaccines outside of the COVAX Facility, such as, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and Serbia, as confirmed by the Director of Public Health, Len Tarivonda.
To ensure safe and equitable access to the COVID-19 vaccines and the success of the vaccination campaign, the support from different partners is crucial in making sure vaccine coverage are widely covered in Vanuatu.
Currently in Vanuatu, two COVID-19 vaccines are being administered, the AstraZeneca and the Sinopharm vaccines. People are given the choice to choose which vaccine they would like to receive.
This week, the Ministry of Health kicked off its mobile vaccination campaign targeting different villages on Efate. These include Mele, Melemaat, Erakor, Pango, Eratap, Erakor and Eton. Data collected by the Ministry demonstrates low COVID-19 vaccine coverage in these areas.
The people of Vanuatu are encouraged to get a COVID-19 vaccine while the vaccination team is in their communities.
The Ministry of Health aims to vaccinate as many of the eligible population as possible to ensure individuals, families, and communities are protected from COVID-19.
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