Police officers will be among the first people who will be getting the booster shot of the COVID-19 vaccines.

Ministry of Health and Medical Services permanent secretary Dr James Fong said they were sorting the deployment logistics and are likely to start the vaccination campaign today.

Dr Fong said along with Police Officers, people over the age of 60 years and those under 60 and living with comorbidities would be the first in line for the third shot.

Dr Fong said while they were looking at the third jab, it was concerning that vaccination rates for eligible adults continued to rise at a very slow rate.

December 1

Fiji will open for tourists from December 1 and the ministry is aiming to get as many people vaccinated as possible.

And in doing this, the ministry is gearing to prepare the frontliners for a possible third wave by giving them a booster shot.

Dr Fong has highlighted that they were expecting a third wave.

“Our vaccination rate among children aged 15 to 17, however, continues to progress at a reassuring rate,” he said.

“It is also reassuring to see that more than 10,500 doses of Pfizer have been deployed over 6 days despite the many cold chain complexities involved in the Pfizer deployment.

“Whilst the demand for Pfizer deployment in children has been extremely encouraging and we applaud the enthusiasm of parents to get their children protected, we ask that the public be patient.”

He said the public needed to embrace society-wide promotion and comply with COVID- safe measures to ensure the third wave is small.

Dr Fong said they would announce booster shot deployment for the public in due time.

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