70% of eligible Fijians have now received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine

410,495 people have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine while 83,732 are fully vaccinated.

Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says this means 70 percent of the target population in Fiji have now received their first dose.

Doctor Fong says for those who are fully vaccinated, please remember that while you are offered very strong protection against severe disease and death, you can still get COVID-19 and pass it on to others so please adhere closely to the other COVID-safe measures.

For pregnant women and other high-risk individuals, the Ministry of Health is also providing them access to the Moderna vaccine.

Doctor Fong says a person only needs to wait 28 days between their first and second dose of Moderna vaccine so this means they can protect those who are at high risk, faster.

He says the data from today tells the same sobering story we have seen since early May.

Doctor Fong says we have an outbreak of severe disease and death among unvaccinated Fijians.

Of the 144 lives we have lost to COVID in this outbreak, none were fully vaccinated. 22 were partially vaccinated, having received only one dose, and the rest had no vaccination.

He says there is no stronger evidence pointing to why we must vaccinate all adults, in particular those who are at greatest risk as quickly as humanly possible.

The Permanent Secretary says it is the best available protection against the worst effects of the virus.

He is asking anyone who is yet to be vaccinated, please do so immediately.

To the younger ones, Doctor Fong says get vaccinated yourselves and please help by bringing your parents, grandparents, and older community members to the nearest vaccination centre or drive-through and give them the best possible protection against this virus.

He says to allow workplaces to reopen without crushing the capacity of their healthcare system, employees must be vaccinated.

Doctor Fong says social welfare recipients must be vaccinated as well.

He says even if the government has not mandated it for you, it is a mandate you should make for yourself.

Doctor Fong says it only takes one look at our rising numbers of fatalities to see there simply is no morally or medically acceptable alternative.

He says sadly, many social media companies, like Facebook, provide the platform for lies and misinformation about vaccines to spread far faster than facts.

Doctor Fong says it is up to us to get the truth about vaccines and the proven protection they provide into the public domain and in front of those who need to hear that message most of all.

He further says on the meantime, thet are continuing to target lockdowns in extremely high-risk areas.

Doctor Fong says they are continuing to enforce the wearing of masks and the maintenance of physical distance.

He is urging Fijians to stay home unless they have an essential reason to leave.

Follow the rules, and be vaccinated when you have the chance.

Fiji has a target of fully vaccinating at least 80 percent of all eligible adults by the end of October.