COVID-19: Fijians To Be Called For Rollout Of Vaccines

The Ministry of Health and Medical Services began calling individuals to get vaccinated as part of the latest shipment of 26,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Permanent Secretary for Health and Medical Services Dr James Fong said they have amended their deployment schedule in light of the current health restrictions to reduce crowding at vaccine sites.

The ministry’s main focus is Nadi due to its close proximity to the airport and quarantine facilities.

Those who will be contacted also include those living with underlying health conditions, those in high-risk professions, including retailers, hotel staff, drivers of taxis, minibuses and buses.

Members of the media in Suva and the West, as well as parliamentarians and parliament staff will also be called to get vaccinated.

“With these vaccines made available to these groups, the Ministry’s advice will soon be that media conferences in confined spaces, such as this one, as well as parliamentary sessions, will only be open to partially and fully vaccinated individuals,” Dr Fong said.

Meanwhile, the careFIJI app has been downloaded more than 148,000 times as of yesterday.

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