There are no immediate plans to vaccinate children in the maritime zones.

Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong, says the Pfizer vaccine needs to be stored in ultra-cold temperatures as low as -90°C.

He adds this will become problematic when sailing to remote islands.

Doctor Fong highlights a plus for them is that there have been no major outbreaks in most of the remote islands, providing children with some level of protection.

“I presume that we don’t have the capacity to move Pfizer all the way out in the Lau group. So the logistics of moving it further out in the country is a bit difficult. But I guess most of the 12 to 14-year-old’s are here in the Suva and the Western side. Then you would probably get up to 60 percent-70 percent of the group just by concentrating your efforts here.”

The Health Ministry says there is constant collaboration in case there is a need to review their vaccine roll-out for children.