Authority trying to find vaccination solution

By PETER WARI
THE Western Highlands health authority is trying to analyse, understand and find a solution to communities resisting the Coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccination, acting chief executive officer Jane Holden says.
The determined approach follows an attack on a mobile team recently when it was carrying out awareness, screening, doing antigen rapid tests and vaccinating people in Tambul-Nebilyer.
“I would say that many are not so resistant, they are cooperating and really want us there and it is fantastic,” Holden said.
“It appears to be due to a variety of reasons, it might be the pastors, the councillors and leaders not understanding something which we need to talk to them about.
“We need to deal with such issues in a sensible way and make them understand the importance of the vaccination and misinformation which is making people reluctant to get vaccinated.”
Holden said the authority had increased the number of vaccination sites and three teams were moving around.
“One is the urban team responding to business requests for vaccination and the other two rural teams that are moving around in the districts,” she said.
Holden said the target population was 70,000-plus people and 2,456 had already received Johnson and Johnson, 3,392 AstraZeneca first doze and 1,560 second doze.