Doctor Fong urges people to get booster doses

Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong is urging people to get their booster dose and is stressing that the lifting of masking and other mandates and easing of travel restrictions is not a sign that the risk of outbreak and resurgence of COVID-19 is over.

As of yesterday, 115,551 people in Fiji have received booster doses.

Doctor Fong stresses that COVID is endemic to Fiji and is present in almost every country in the world and as such the risk of resurgence will continue, with the highest risk to the unvaccinated, those with waning immunity, and those who have not had a booster dose.

He says the vulnerable among us will be susceptible to severe disease and death even if they are vaccinated when compared to the non-vulnerable group.

Doctor Fong says the non-vulnerable and young adults and teenagers will always be able to transmit disease to the vulnerable.

He adds they expect that with the upcoming general elections, population mixing will be unavoidable.

Doctor Fong stresses that if you are at higher risk of severe disease should you get infected with COVID-19, they strongly recommend that you continue to wear a mask in public, particularly in crowded indoor spaces.

The Permanent Secretary says the current COVID-19 booster dose program has been slowed down by slower uptake and deployment challenges relating to the need to deal with the current surge of leptospirosis, typhoid, dengue fever and influenza in Fiji.

Doctor Fong says the booster dose has been approved for deployment at a reduced post-dose two-interval of three months compared to five months before.

He says he has instructed teams to go back to health facilities and do targeted booster programs for the vulnerable and the willing and to focus on 12 to 18-year-olds through the school vaccination program.

Doctor Fong also confirms that they are close to opening an avenue to getting access to paediatric doses of vaccines.

He says they will continue to monitor the evidence on post-infection immunity based on quality data that is being generated globally.

The Permanent Secretary for Health adds that the unfortunate fact is, that while many in Fiji and around the world are tired of COVID-19, the virus is not yet tired of us.

Doctor Fong stresses that wishing it would go away will not make it a reality.