SUVA, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- Fiji started on Wednesday to provide COVID-19 booster dose for all eligible adults.
According to a statement by Fiji's Health Ministry, effective from Wednesday, all individuals aged 18 years and above in Fiji are eligible to receive the COVID-19 booster dose by Moderna.
An individual can receive the COVID-19 booster dose after receiving their initial two doses of the COVID-19 vaccines at least 5 months ago, which is before July 22, 2021, according to the ministry.
The ministry encouraged all individuals aged 18 years and above who have underlying medical conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and kidney disease to get the booster dose.
The eligible adults in the island nation are also expected to receive Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines in January next year which have been approved for use as booster doses for the adult population.
A total of 91.8 percent of the adult target population in Fiji have been fully vaccinated, while 97.7 percent have received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
As an island nation with a population of around 900,000, Fiji reported its first COVID-19 case on March 19 last year, and it has recorded more than 52,000 COVID-19 cases in total, with 697 deaths.
As part of its efforts to help recover its economy, Fiji re-opened its borders to welcome tourists from its travel partner countries, such as Australia and the United States on Dec. 1 this year.
Six travelers from Fiji's travel partner countries have tested positive for COVID-19 during the mandatory three-day hotel stay and testing since Dec. 1 this year. Their positive samples will be sent to the partner laboratory in Australia for genomic sequencing.
Fiji has so far recorded two confirmed cases of Omicron, both are Fijians who returned to the Pacific island nation in early December after traveling to Nigeria. Enditem
