In his recent nationwide address, the Prime Minister announced that the Solomon Islands has been COVID-19 free now for more than a month.
However, the Prime Minister Sogavare said surveillance screening exercises found that ‘respiratory syncytial virus’, a common and contagious virus that causes respiratory tract infection was predominant in urban Honiara, while Human rhinovirus, that can cause acute asthma, bronchitis and viral pneumonia was dominant in rural areas.
Mr. Sogavare said such findings mean that while we continue to focus on managing the COVID-19 pandemic, we must not take attention away from the more common health challenges facing our people.
At the time of his national address, the Prime Minister said since March, more than 15,000 people in the SI had been vaccinated against Covid-19 in the country.
64% of the population in the Shortlands, with 2838 people out of the target population of 3,610 people had received vaccinations, he said.
In Choiseul province, the Prime Minister mentioned the vaccination team had only managed to cover 34 % of the target population of 10,000 people so far.
The PM stressed that everyone 18 years and older in Choiseul and Shortland’s to take their first doses of AstraZeneca vaccines. “You are living next to the border. Should there be a case from the border from Bougainville, and you are not vaccinated, you will not be protected,” the Prime Minister emphasized.
“Do not listen to wrong advice or information. Now is the time to get ahead. If we are all vaccinated and COVID-19 does break our barriers, then its impact will be muted because we would have all developed protection against it,” he added...
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health and Medical Services (MHMS) has reiterated that COVID-19 vaccinations at the Central Field Hospital, Honiara is now open for all persons 18 years and above in Honiara and Guadalcanal Province.
Essential workers, including public transport drivers and crews have been strongly advised to come forward for vaccination.
The decision by the COVID-19 Vaccine National Coordinating Committee (NCC) to open vaccination for this group was reached after assessing current status of vaccination coverage for all front liners, vaccination of people with underlying disease and vaccination coverage along the western borderline communities. The decision was also based on the operational and logistics challenges and the cost of rolling out the vaccine.
Comment.
The Covid free status of the Solomon Islands is very encouraging and creditable compared to what is occurring regionally in Papua New Guinea and in Fiji where Covid is posing serious problems for the health authorities given the rise in coronavirus cases.
Sources : MHMS press releases and Solomon Times Online.
Yours sincerely
Frank Short
