SUVA, March 7 (Xinhua) -- The South Pacific island nation of Fiji will receive 108,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines under the COVAX Facility.
According to Fiji Broadcasting Corporation (FBC) on Sunday, Erja Askola, deputy head of the European Union (EU) Delegation for the Pacific, said that Fiji is the first Pacific island country to receive the vaccines through the facility. The first batch of vaccines is only the beginning and there will be much more.
The COVAX Facility is a great illustration of global solidarity and the EU has contributed over 2.6 billion U.S. dollars to this facility to ensure international vaccine solidarity, Askola said, adding that this contribution will help secure 1.3 billion doses of vaccines for 92 low and middle-income countries, including Fiji and the Pacific, by the end of the year.
On Saturday night, Fiji received 12,000 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine under the COVAX Facility. This is the first batch of such vaccines and the first shot of the vaccine is expected to be done within a week.
According to Fiji's Health Minister Ifereimi Waqainabete, they are hoping to complete vaccination of the first batch of vaccines to 6,000 frontline health workers and members of the disciplined forces helping in the manning of quarantine facilities within this week.
Fiji, an island nation with a population of around 900,000, has 63 COVID-19 cases in total, with seven active cases, 54 recoveries and two deaths since its first case was reported on March 19 last year. Enditem