The country needs approximately one million doses of covid-19 vaccines to cover its population of people above eighteen years of age.
Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare said this on Monday when announcing the expected arrival of the first twenty thousand doses of the AstraZeneca vaccines Friday this week.
So far, the Government has received a commitment of 108,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines from the COVAX facility and 20,000 doses of Sinopharm from the People’s Republic of China totaling to 128,000 doses.
This means the country still have a gap of between 772,000 and 872,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines that it need to secure to cover the total 18 years and over population.
“If the current trials on children confirm that children can also be vaccinated, we estimate an additional 600,000 doses will be required to vaccinate the whole population f Solomon Islands,” Sogavare said.
The government is working hard to secure more vaccine supplies through the COVAX facility and from the PRC to bridge the gap.
“We will also be making direct approach to the government of India, one of the major producers of the AstraZeneca vaccine to complement what the COVAX facility is able to provide,” Sogavare added.
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