60.2% of the target population have received at least one dose of AstraZeneca while 11.4% are now fully vaccinated

353,303 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine and 66,635 have received their second doses.

Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says this means that 60.2 percent of the target population have received at least one dose and 11.4 percent are now fully vaccinated nationwide.

Meanwhile the 7-day average of new COVID-19 cases per day in Fiji is 622 cases per day or 702 cases per million population per day.

With daily increases in cases, we are also seeing increasing cases of severe COVID-19 and increasing deaths.

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

He 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.

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.