The AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine has been given regulatory approval for use in Papua New Guinea.
The government is planning for the vaccine rollout, aimed to launch by the end of April, as PNG struggles to control the spread of Covid-19.
The PNG Medical and Scientific Advisory Committee reviewed the various Covid-19 vaccines produced, according to Prime Minister James Marape.
PNG can obtain the AstraZeneca vaccine produced through the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access, or COVAX facility, he said. The World Health Organization has also given it their blessing.
Vaccination would not be compulsory, according to Marape. It will be aimed at a specific audience.
“A large number of health workers have been affected by the Covid-19, therefore, they will be given priority,” he said. “We are now in the process of getting the vaccine across, hopefully by April.”
PNG will receive a total of 588,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from the first allocation by the end of June, according to the Department of Health.
The vaccine will be sent to PNG in two shipments: the first, consisting of 288,000 doses, is scheduled to arrive in late March or early April, and the second, consisting of the remaining 300,000 doses, will arrive in late May or early June.
Frontline vital health staff will be the first to be vaccinated, with the first batch arriving by the end of June, followed by the most vulnerable, such as those with co-morbidities and the elderly, in the second half of the year.
Marape expressed concern in a statement that Covid-19 has infected a significant number of health workers, and that they will be given priority for vaccination.
"Health workers will be vaccinated first as we are seeing a growing number of health workers who are getting infected in the line of their work," he said. "There is evidence that there is a large community transmission in the National Capital District, and that is affecting health workers who have come in contact with Covid-19 patients in the course of their duty. This is a serious community transmission and we are now relooking at our own isolation strategies, and how we can best look after our health workers while processes for bringing in the vaccine are completed and the vaccines are brought into the country."
The prime minister said that he would not take the vaccine ahead of those who need it most and that he would only do so to demonstrate to Papua New Guineans that the vaccine can help them combat the virus.
“It must be emphasised that even with the vaccine, we must maintain and strengthen public health measures such as face masking, physical distancing, frequent hand washing, respiratory and cough hygiene, avoiding crowds and ensuring good ventilation,” said Marape.
