Australia, NZ and UNICEF to provide 530,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine to Fiji

Fiji’s fight against COVID-19 has been given a boost as 530,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine will be given over the next 3 months by Australia through a partnership with UNICEF and New Zealand.

It will be dedicated to children above the age of 12 years and will also be rolled out as part of Fiji’s COVID-19 booster program.

Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says these vaccines are crucial for Fiji as it will help save more lives in the third wave of the pandemic.

Dr Fong says protecting children and adults from infection and severe disease is a key part of our strategy to facilitate socio-economic recovery.

Australian High Commissioner to Fiji, John Feakes says this delivery will bring the total number of Australian-supplied vaccines in Fiji to over 1.6 million doses to support the country’s world-class vaccine rollout.

Feakes says Australia is also pleased to work with the Fijian Ministry of Health and UNICEF to upgrade Fiji’s cold chain storage to support the rollout of Pfizer vaccines.

New Zealand High Commissioner to Fiji, Charlotte Darlow says they are committed to assisting Fiji’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign after having already donated Pfizer vaccines for 12 to 14 year old children and 100,000 doses of AstraZeneca.

Darlow adds this latest donation is a further demonstration of their support to lifting vaccination rates and building COVID-19 resilience in Fiji.

UNICEF's Pacific Representative, Jonathan Veitch says these Pfizer vaccines will protect thousands of Fijian children against severe symptomatic illness from the virus.