Hopes For Paediatric Pfizer Vaccines For Children Below Age 12 Soon
“We are working with our development partners and we are working on how we could move forward from there.
Friday 04 February 2022 | 11:20
Discussions are progressing on securing paediatric doses of the Pfizer vaccines for children below the age of 12.
Permanent Secretary for Health and Medical Services, Dr James Fong, said discussions were underway and he hoped Fiji would be able to secure these vaccines for younger children soon.
“Many have asked me about vaccines for the younger children and we are exploring that at the moment,” he said.
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“We are having that discussion and we have had quite a progress in that discussion.”
He said securing these vaccines was a little complex because they had to be specifically made.
“Usually manufactures want us to order by the many millions,” he said.
“In Fiji, the population that requires it, those below the age of 12, is not even a million. It’s much lower; it’s something close to 150,000.
“It not to a scale that you can purchase easily.”
He said there was a need to work with a group and there needs to be a lot of discussion and negotiations that needs to be done before it is brought in.
“We are working with our development partners and we are working on how we could move forward from there.
“We need to be aware that the discussions are progressing.”
UNICEF Pacific representative, Jonathan Veitch, said they would continue to discuss the possibility of assisting the country in this regard over the next coming months.
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