Health Minister Doctor Ifereimi Waqainabete says their teams are in the process of understanding whether they need to learn more about the paediatric doses following confirmation that New Zealand has offered to give 50,000 Pfizer paediatric doses for children aged 5 years old and above.
Dr Waqainabete says the paediatric dose quantity will be different compared to what is being given to adults and they are also sorting out the cold storage that is in place.
He says the 50,000 doses is only the beginning and they are talking to New Zealand and other partners to get more paediatric doses.
The Health Minister says the Ministry has a fair idea of the number of children that are eligible for the paediatric doses and they will be targeting the vulnerable children first.
Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong had earlier told Legend FM News that they will need about 360,000 doses to ensure all children between the ages of 5-12 are fully vaccinated for COVID-19.
Dr Fong says their stand on the use of the vaccine for 5-years and above is supported by the advice of world authorities and the fact that it has been deployed to millions of children with no reported side effects.
He is urging parents and guardians to ensure their children are vaccinated when the vaccines arrive to ensure they are protected from the deadly virus.
