Samoa held a follow-up mass vaccination campaign on Friday where more than 2,000 people who were both unvaccinated and those waiting for their second dose receiving their AstraZeneca vaccine.

The Ministry of Health (M.O.H.) with the assistance of various Government Ministries mobilised vaccination teams early Friday morning at Moto'otua to prepare for the rollout.

In the hope of achieving herd immunity in Samoa and in the country's collective efforts to fortify our national  response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government together with its  partners haves undertaken a ‘follow-up mass vaccination campaign’ on Friday from 8am to 6pm throughout the whole country.

Members off the public were advised to help the vaccination teams identify the families and individuals who require vaccination by tying a piece of red cloth or a red flag in front of their residences, organisations and businesses.  

While the previous two-day nationwide vaccination led to a complete lockdown, the follow-up vaccination allowed all Government offices and private sector to remain open for normal business.

The public was also reminded that Friday is not a public holiday and roads were opened to the traveling public. 

The National Emergency Operation Centre (N.E.O.C.) provided an update on the status of the vaccination operations around 3pm.

It was led by the Director General of the Ministry of Health, Leausa Dr. Take Naseri and the Chairman of N.E.O.C. Agafili Shem Leo. 

Leausa said that as of 2pm on Friday afternoon a total of 2,399 people have been vaccinated.

“Of this total 2,031 people were full vaccinated while 368 people have just received their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine,” he said.

The Director General of Health also said that this is an indication that after the previous mass vaccination some people were still not get vaccinated until now.

“But the good thing we have seen is that many of our people have come forward to get vaccinated which we are grateful, this was seen at some of our fixed sites such as Moto’otua.”

Leausa said that around 8am vaccination teams started heading out while there were some delays.

“Some of villages did not have many red flags [indicating the need for vaccinations] but when our teams visited, there were many families that needed to be vaccinated with the second dose. 

“If there are no red flags, use any colour while some people wait for the vehicles to come around…we might miss but it is best to be on standby and let our teams know when they are coming around. 

“I am aware that our district hospitals will open its doors for vaccinations until 6pm including Moto’otua.”

The Chairman of N.E.O.C. thanked members of the public for their support as they rollout the nationwide vaccination campaign.

Agafili said that we must take into consideration that Europe has been affected yet again by the COVID-19 virus.

“The mass vaccination aims to protect our people, we also ask for our people to assist with our work in ensuring our people are well protected.

“We want to thank our village representatives, churches and villages for welcoming and treating our teams well which includes doctors and nurses.

He also said that the Minister of Health, Valasi Tafito Selesele will provide an overview of the campaign later in the evening. 

Before the nation-wide vaccination campaign the Health Ministry figures revealed that more than 115,000 people in Samoa have received their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine as of 16 November.

The latest data released by the Ministry of Health on Friday showed that 115,951 people received the first dose accounting for 95.1 per cent of the eligible population. Of this total 59,907 were male while 56,044 were female.

A total of 89,818 Samoans and residents have been fully vaccinated which represents 73.7 per cent of the eligible population with 46,846 male and 42,972 female.

For the Pfizer vaccine a total of 22,023 received their first dose while three are fully vaccinated. The eligible population for Pfizer includes children from 12 -17 years, pregnant mothers and lactating mothers.