Vaccination is a simple, safe, and effective way of protecting people against harmful disease before they come into contact with them.

Vaccine teaches your body to recognize germs such as viruses and bacteria, and how to fight it off.

More detail:

When you get vaccine, your immune system response by:

• Recognizing the invading germs, such as the virus or bacteria.
• Producing antibodies (Antibodies are protein produces naturally by the immune system to fight disease)
• Remembering the disease and how to fight it. If you are the exposed to the germs in the future, your immune system can quickly destroy it before you become sick.

Getting vaccinated is, therefore, a safe and clever way to produce an immune response in the body, without causing illness

The first supply of COVID-19 vaccines is supplied via the global COVAX Facility. The COVAX facility has been set up to facilitate the equitable distribution of safe COVID-19 vaccines to all countries, as rapidly as possible.

There are different types of COVID-19 vaccines, however they all work to protect you against COVID-19.

Scientists around the world are developing many potential vaccines for COVID-19. There are several different types of potential vaccines for COVID-19 is in development, including the following types:

Currently, there is no evidence that any other vaccines, apart from those specifically designed for COVID-19, will protect against COVID-19.

Ministry of Health will be receiving COVID-19 vaccines in batches, with the first batch expected to arrive before end of JUNE 2021. Over the course of 2021, the Government expects to receive enough vaccines to vaccinate 20% of the population.

As there is limited global supply and high global demand for COVID-19 vaccines, Vanuatu’s vaccines will be prioritized and provided to those who are considered most vulnerable to COVID-19.

Vanuatu’s priority groups who will first receive the COVID-19 vaccine are health workers, front line workers (e.g. border workers, quarantine facility staff, public transport drivers), elderly (55 and above) and people over 35 with existing medical conditions.

1. Healthcare workers: Health workers continue to serve on the front line of the global fight against COVID-19 and have more risk to be exposed to be COVID-19 due to their occupation.
2. Other front-line workers: Such as airport workers, seaport- workers, quarantine facility staff, hoteliers working in quarantine facilities, disciplined forces and some other essential workers are prioritized as their jobs bring them into contact with people potentially exposed to COVID -19 and so they have a higher risk of exposure to the virus.
3. Older adults: Older adults are at significantly higher risk of developing severe illness or even death if they get COVID-19.
4. Individuals with existing health conditions: People with existing health conditions, like hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, are at significantly higher risk of developing severe illness or even death if they get COVID-19.

The COVID-19 vaccines produce protection against the disease, as a result of developing an immune response to the virus.

Developing immunity means there is a reduced risk of developing the illness and its consequences. This immunity helps you fight the virus if exposed.

Getting vaccinated may also protect people around you, because if you are protected from getting infected and from the COVID-19 disease, then you are less likely to spread it to others.

It is too early to know the duration of protection of COVID-19 vaccines. Research is ongoing to answer this question, at this stage we know that the vaccine provides at least 8 months protection against the virus.

This is why it is important that we all continue to follow the recommended public health safety measures, like covering our cough and sneeze, cleaning our hands regularly, wearing a mask, if recommended, and staying at home if feeling unwell.

There are strict measures in place to help ensure the safety of all COVID-19 vaccines. Like all vaccines, COVID-19 vaccines need to go through rigorous tests and clinical trials, reviewed by independent expert committees before they can be used. Once a vaccine has been approved and is being rolled out in a country, it is very closely monitored to make sure that it remains safe for use and there are no adverse impacts experienced.

WHO and its partners are committed to speeding up the development of COVID-19 vaccines, whilst ensuring the highest standards of safety are kept.

In the past, vaccines were developed through a series of steps that took years. Now, because of the urgent need for COVID-19 vaccines, never seen before financial investments and scientific collaborations have helped fast-track their development.

Also, some steps in the research and development process have been happening in parallel which has helped speed up the process, while still maintaining strict clinical and safety standards. No shortcuts were taken and all safety checks were completed as required in any vaccine development and approvals process.

Currently there is greater demand for COVID-19 vaccines than vaccine manufacturing companies can produce.

For now, due to the limited supply and high global demand for COVID-19 vaccines, vaccines will be prioritized and provided to those who are considered most at risk or vulnerable to COVID-19.

All viruses – including the virus that causes COVID-19 – evolve over time. When a virus replicates or makes copies of itself, it sometimes changes a little bit, which is normal for a virus. These changes are called “mutations”. A virus with one or more new mutations is referred to as a “variant” of the original virus.

When a virus is spreading widely in a population and causing many infections, there is a higher chance the virus mutating increases. The more chances a virus has to spread, the more it replicates – and the more opportunities it has to undergo changes.

The COVID-19 vaccines that are currently in development or have been approved are expected to provide at least some protection against new virus variants because these vaccines trigger your body to develop a broad immune response. Therefore, changes or mutations in the virus should not make vaccines completely ineffective.

However, data on the new COVID-19 virus variants continues to be collected and analysed, including the effect of vaccination on these variants.

Yes. Vaccines will be an important tool in fighting COVID-19, but even the most effective vaccines will not end the pandemic on their own.

For instance, it is too early to know if COVID-19 vaccines will provide long-term protection against the virus. That's why we must continue using all the other tools and preventive practices for fighting COVID-19.

Individuals must continue taking steps to protect themselves and others. This includes hand washing, covering coughs and sneezes, physical distancing and staying at home if feeling unwell as well as following other public health recommendations.