3000 receive COVID vaccine in Nauru

President Lionel Aingimea has confirmed 3,000 adults on Nauru have received their COVID vaccine in three weeks.

This equates to 45 per cent of Nauru’s total adult population.

But there are still 3,500 people who have not been vaccinated and there is only one week left to do so. The urgency and importance to get vaccinated cannot be stressed enough.

Nauru has protocols in place to stop the virus (capture & contain policy) but we, the people, Nauruans and foreigners, need to do our part.

The vaccine is available for everyone in Nauru. Go to any of the vaccination centres at Public Health, Menen hall, and sports complex, from 10am to 7pm, to get your shot.

The last day to take your first dose is 7 May. The remaining 3,500 adults who have not received the vaccine have only one week to do so. If you don’t get your first dose by 7 May, you cannot get it when the second dose is rolled out in June. There is also no guarantee we can secure additional doses once our supply runs out.

Don’t be complacent. It is now critical that everyone urgently gets their shot and get ahead of any possible scenario of the virus entering Nauru.

There is some concern and hesitancy in the community including news of blood clots. There is no certainty of a connection between blood clots and this vaccine.

While there are news reports and social media information; the World Health Organisation (WHO) advises it is safer to be vaccinated than not.

The President reminds the public of Angam and how the Spanish flu in the 1920s decimated the Nauruan population; with the absence of a vaccine at the time, it nearly wiped out the Nauruan race. A vaccine could have prevented such devastation. The President urges everyone not to allow a repeat of Angam saying we want to be able to protect all Nauruans and everyone else living here.

President Aingimea reiterates the enormity of this virus, and highlighted the rising number of cases in neighbouring Fiji, with authorities confirming that Fiji now has the India strain of the virus. India now has over 350,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and averaging 2,500 deaths daily.

While the Government of India put in appropriate COVID measures, there has not been sufficient public compliance thus placing the country in the current situation.

The President describes suggestions of the COVID vaccine containing ‘triple six’ as “fake news”, a “waste of time and rubbish”, with absolutely no conclusive proof connecting triple six to the vaccine. Instead, you will be injecting yourself with the vaccine to protect you and Nauru from coronavirus.

The President urges you not to listen to YouTube, Facebook or other unreliable sources that stream a lot of misinformation and fake news about COVID-19.

Church leaders agreed in a recent meeting with the President that there is no such thing as triple six in the vaccine. Some church leaders have also advised their congregation to get vaccinated.

Vaccination is a simple, safe, and very effective way of protecting us against this harmful disease and saves lives.

In order to protect yourself and your family, the best thing to do now is to get vaccinated.

All adults - Nauruans and foreigners on island, who are one of the 3,500 unvaccinated individuals, are asked to please take your dose today or by the 7th May.

Be responsible, get vaccinated.

As of 29 April 2021, there have been 149,216,984 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 3,144,028 deaths, reported to WHO; and a total of 968,452,196 vaccine doses have been administered.

The WHO considers that the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine outweigh the risks and recommends that vaccinations continue.

 

Photo file Nauru Media News- NTV