The announcement that there is a possibility that Fiji could get its first batch of COVID-19 vaccines from India soon is interesting.
Acting Indian High Commissioner to Fiji Sukanta Charan Sahoo said the vaccines could arrive as early as next month.
“Discussions are underway and we will see how early the vaccine is brought to Fiji,” he said.
“We have been meeting with the Government and the international donor and partner countries in regards to the vaccine.
“We may firstly consider providing it for the frontline workers including security personnel, doctors, nurses, paramedics, and others. It will be difficult at this stage to announce the amount of vaccine that will be given but as I have mentioned, it all depends on Fiji’s request.”
The Health Ministry has confirmed that there are no active cases of COVID-19 in Fiji. In the US, CNN reported yesterday that President Joe Biden believes anyone who wants a vaccine may be able to get it by spring, and he expects the US will soon be able to vaccinate 1.5 million people a day.
The Biden administration’s official goal remains 100 million vaccine shots in their first 100 days in office.
CNN reported that President Biden remained hopeful that the US could soon be administering 1.5 million vaccines a day – 50 per cent more than the one million doses per day goal he had promised since before inauguration.
According to Johns Hopkins University data, there were 147,254 new coronavirus infections and 1758 virus-related fatalities on Monday in the US. The nationwide totals now stood at 25,293,201 cases, including 420,972 deaths yesterday. On the homefront here, we are one of the few nations on the planet that are COVID-contained.
Our challenge continues to be trying to keep the status quo. The revelation that New Zealand have confirmed a woman was the country’s first community case in two months, should motivate us to stay vigilant. As contact tracing continues in NZ, we are buoyed by our status.
We are reminded about how fast the virus spreads and the different variants recorded around the world. Attention, however, will be on our frontliners and staff at our border quarantine facilities.
They carry our hopes and aspirations in this fight against the virus. We are reminded though about the role we must play in keeping the status quo.
As we keep a tab on developments on the vaccine front, we are reminded about the importance of adhering to social distancing rules.
It means being vigilant and proactive.
