Vaccination of children aged 15 to 17 years with the Moderna vaccine will cease this weekend to allow the Health Ministry to take stock of the progress of the campaign.
14,680 children in Fiji have received one dose of the vaccine.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says they will advise on the resumption date of the vaccination campaign.
He says parental or guardian consent remains mandatory before vaccination and no vaccine will be administered to any child without the consent of the parent or guardian.
Doctor Fong adds vaccination for children aged 12 to 17 years is safe.
He also says similar to adults, children can also experience the side effects of COVID-19 vaccination such as pain, swelling at the jab site, fever and body aches.
Doctor Fong adds these symptoms should subside over a few days.
He further says severe side effects are rare and the risk of getting a severe infection and succumbing to COVID-19 is still higher than the risk of adverse events from vaccination.
The Permanent Secretary says parents and guardians are encouraged to agree for their children to be vaccinated to protect them from COVID-19.
For the Rewa subdivision, the drive-through vaccination site at Hexagon plaza will cease from today.
The vaccination site at the Vunimono Hall will relocate to the Parish Hall behind Nausori Market from Monday 27 September 2021 from 9am to 3pm.
As of the 23rd September 2021, 590,386 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 419,065 have received their second doses.
Based on our updated total population of 618,173 people aged 18 years and over, the revised vaccination coverage rates are 95.5% for adults who have received at least one dose and 67.8% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
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