700-plus received AstraZeneca jabs: Official

MORE than 700 people received the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine yesterday, an official says.
The rollout of the 8,000 doses of vaccines from Australia for frontline health workers in the National Capital District started last Tuesday.
Health secretary Dr Osborne Liko said, 721 people received their first dose which included 60 per cent of the medical doctors from the Port Moresby General Hospital (PMGH). He said only about five per cent of the nurses had been vaccinated which was a concern but the Health Department was working around the clock to help all the health workers understand the importance of the vaccination exercise.
He said the Health Department had a meeting with the Papua New Guinea Nurses Association (PNGNA) on Wednesday and yesterday, and the president and secretary received the vaccine.
“Our nurses and health workers will take ownership of the Covid-19 vaccination programme and will drive it,” Dr Liko said.
“The polio vaccination template is there and the immunisation team will take on the vaccination programme.
He said through the Covid-19 response the cold-chain system would be supported and improved.
Dr Liko thanked all the development partners for the ongoing support that had been accorded to PNG so far in combating and controlling the spread of the Covid-19 in the country.
National Control Centre (NCC) incident manager Dr Daoni Esorom said there was a national vaccine rollout plan and by the end of the year around three million doses of the vaccines would be received from the World Health Organisation (WHO) Covax facility.
He said 132,000 doses from the covax-facility manufactured by the Serum Institute of India would arrive on Tuesday.