[Source: Australia in Fiji]
The Australia government’s support in the fight against COVID-19 in Fiji continues, with 20,000 AstraZeneca vaccines and a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing machine arriving tonight.
A further 30,000 vaccines arrive on Saturday after which the balance will supplied to the Fijian health officials over a period of time through regular delivery.
Australia’s High Commissioner to Fiji, John Feakes, who has been instrumental in brokering all assistance, says they have always and will continue to stand ready to help Fiji.
He says the vaccines and the testing machine, will assist the MOH in curbing any further spread on Viti Levu and beyond.
Feakes says this is apart from Australia funding the 11,000 swab samples being tested in a private lab. 7000 samples were sent today with 4000 going on Saturday.
Under the COVAX arrangement and the assistance of Australia, Fiji is expecting a total of 86,000 vaccines by this week.
The supply tonight will be arriving on a Fiji Airways freighter flight and the national airline has also assisted the MOH by flying across the swab samples to Australia.
This Australian assistance comes at a time as the World Health Organization says everyone who is eligible and gets a chance should get the jab.
WHO’s Doctor Maria Van Kerkhove, says vaccines assist in the fight against the deadly SARS-CoV-2 virus, the virus that causes COVID-19.
“When it’s your turn, get vaccinated. There are many studies underway studying the properties of each of these variants of concern in terms of transmissibility, severity and impact on diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines. So far from the information that we have from the studies that are underway and the results that are available, the public health and social measures, the diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines do work against these virus variants.”
Meanwhile, the WHO in response to question from FBC News, says the B.1.617 variant lineage, is divided into three sub-lineages, B.1.617.1, B.1.617.2 and B.1.617.3.
Fiji is currently listed as having B.1.617.X which WHO says it knows belongs to the B.1.617 lineage, but they are yet to determine the sub-lineage.
