BY MAVIS N PODOKOLO
ONLY 9.9 percent of elderly people are fully vaccinated with only 33.8 percent having their first dose.
This was confirmed by Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare in his latest national address delivered on Friday.
“9.9 % of our elderly population are fully vaccinated and 33.8% have had their first dose. We encourage families to help the elderlies including those with terminal illness, disability to reach vaccination centres to get vaccinated because if we have community transmission, the elderlies are more vulnerable, ”Sogavare said.
He further adds that about 54percent of all people vaccinated are males and 46 percent are females.
“I encourage our women and girls, to come forward and get vaccinated,” Sogavare said.
He adds that to go out to vaccinate people costs a lot of money for health teams.
Sogavare stressed that after eight months of vaccination, the health ministry has administered a total of 267, 338 doses of COVID-19 vaccines both for AZ and Sinopharm vaccines and includes first and second doses.
“This represents only 32 percent of the total doses we must give to fully vaccinate the 414,327 eligible adults in Solomon Islands which is 828,654 doses”.
“73,540 people are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19, which is 17.7 percent of the total eligible population. 120,258 people, or 29 percent, have had their first doses and we encourage all to come get their 2nd doses,” he said.
