59.6% of the target population have received at least one dose of AstraZeneca while 11.2 % are now fully vaccinated

349,396 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine while 65,618 people have received their second doses.

Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says this means that 59.6 percent of the target population have received at least one dose and 11.2 percent are now fully vaccinated nationwide.

The 7-day average of new cases per day has increased to 627 cases per day or 708 cases per million population per day.

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

He says getting fully vaccinated, with 2 doses of the vaccine, will decrease your risk of getting infected with the virus.

Doctor Fong says 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.