58% of the target population have received at least one dose of AstraZeneca while 10.6% are now fully vaccinated

340,334 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine and 62,445 have received their second doses.

Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says this means that 58 percent of the target population have received at least one dose and 10.6 percent are now fully vaccinated nationwide.

He says the two drive-through vaccination centres within the Suva-Nausori Corridor (Albert Park and the Fiji National University- Nasinu Campus at Valelevu) will be open today from 9am to 2pm for vaccination.

The 7-day average of new cases per day has increased to 610 cases per day or 689 cases per million population per day.

Doctor Fong says with daily increases in cases we are also seeing increasing cases of severe COVID-19 and increasing deaths.

He says with increasing daily cases, hospitalisations, and deaths, they are asking all Fijians to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

Doctor Fong says getting fully vaccinated, with 2 doses of the vaccine, will decrease your risk of getting infected with the virus but most importantly, getting fully vaccinated will significantly reduce your risk of getting severe COVID-19, even if you do get infected.

He says none of the people who have died from COVID-19 in Fiji have been fully vaccinated and we know from data from the United Kingdom that the Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccine reduces the risk of hospitalization from the Delta variant by 92 percent.