Health Situation Reports

HIGHLIGHTS

• So far, 94,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been received in Vanuatu, comprising 24,000 AstraZeneca doses through COVAX Facility, 20,000 Sinopharm doses received from the Chinese Government and 50,000 AstraZeneca doses received from the Australian Government.
• Vaccine roll-out started in Shefa province on 2 June 2021 and in Sanma province on 25 August 2021. Vaccines are prioritised to health workers, front line workers (e.g. border workers, quarantine facility staff, public transport drivers), the elderly (55 and over), and people 35 and over with existing medical conditions.
• Up until 19 September 2021, there were 65,913 COVID-19 doses administered in Vanuatu. A total of 46,348 people received at least one dose of AstraZeneca or Sinopharm, including 898 healthcare workers, 1,723 other frontline workers, 8,244 elderly persons and 5,280 persons with known underlying conditions. 3,608 people have received two doses of Sinopharm and 15,971 have received two doses of AstraZeneca, and are considered fully vaccinated.
• There have been 316 adverse events following COVID-19 immunization notified in Vanuatu. The vast majority have been mild to moderate side-effects reported via the dial-in line. 11 have been classified as serious adverse events and have required investigation. Of these, 11 have required causality assessments with 9 confirmed to be coincidental or immunization anxiety-related and not related to the COVID-19 vaccine product or immunization error with 1 indeterminate (due to conflicting trends). Results from 1 event are pending. To 19 September 2021 there have been no serious adverse events or deaths confirmed to be related to the COVID-19 vaccine product, quality defect or immunization error in Vanuatu.
• Vanuatu remains in Scenario 1 (Level 0: Low). There are currently no COVID-19 cases in isolation or quarantine, with no evidence of local transmission in Vanuatu since the beginning of the pandemic.
• Everyone is urged to refer to official information sources and avoid rumours. Updates will be communicated via the COVID-19 website: www.covid19.gov.vu