Close to 200 more people received their first dose of the vaccine in Ba on Saturday, making the subdivision the first to achieve 100% first dose vaccine coverage of their eligible population.
Following the vaccination of 188 more individuals on Saturday 17 July, Ba has surpassed its target population of 24,558 by 70.
In addition, 7% of its target population are fully vaccinated. Should the partly vaccinated Ba populous decide to take the second dose after eight weeks of their receiving the first dose, Ba should be able to achieve full vaccination coverage by the third week of September.
Yesterday the Ministry of Health released an advisory in which it advised those who are partly vaccinated that they could take their second dose after eight weeks of their first jab and did not need to wait for the maximum of 12 weeks. The ministry said the protection and level of immunity the jab offers is the same as long as it is taken after eight weeks of the first jab.
Similarly, if all partially vaccinated individuals, across the country, who completed their 8-week minimum interval yesterday decide to take their second jabs this week, Fiji will have inoculated at least 53,815 more for a total vaccination coverage of 132,439 or 22.5% of the target population by the end of this week.
As of Saturday 17 July, 13.4% of the target population had been fully vaccinated, and 67% have received their first dose.
This week also marks the rollout of the Moderna vaccine from Wednesday. The Moderna vaccine is recommended for pregnant women and individuals above 60 years of age especially those with severe comorbidities such as chronic lung disease, significant cardiac disease, severe obesity, diabetes, liver disease. Those with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection are also among those prioritized to receive the Moderna vaccine within the Suva -Nausori corridor.
