Sunday 6 June 2021, Apia Samoa. The Ministry of Health are forging ahead with covid-19 vaccinations, and as Samoa’s count passes the 36,457 mark, it is noted that women are trailing behind men. With males at 20,070 and females at 16,387 – women are trailing behind by 3,683.
The Ministry of Health supported by NEOC have set out the vaccination programme to the general population with clearly defined zones; and regular updates are provided of Samoa’s progress towards its target number of 133,000 eligible adults.
Samoa’s vaccination porgramme officially launched Sunday 18 April 2021 starting with frontliners working at the border including first responders Police and FESA, as well as essential services such electricity (EPC), water (SWA), Security firms and others.
Part of the statistic that females are lagging behind males could be attributed to a disproportionate number of women:men working in the sectors vaccinated first. However the gap between women and men seems to widen with every update published.
Perhaps it is due to pregnancies or mothers breastfeeding.
Whatever the case may be, it’s worth having a closer look into this statistic, as the monitoring continues.
The numbers reported of eligible adults being vaccinated increases steadily by at least four thousand each week.
The Ministry of Health page gives regular updates of the programmes and the teams disseminated to carry out vaccinations.
Access to vaccination is easy, with stations set up within the allocated zones. There are also mobile stations that visit people’s homes in the area, so the elderly can be vaccinated without having to travel.
Permanent stations such as the STA fale, continues to be set up in central Apia for anyone at anytime to come in and have their first of two doses. The staff there report that in their first few weeks, they were averaging one thousand doses a week.
The process is also quick and easy, with well trained teams that include a Records Officer to ensure the system is updated, Registered Nurses and qualified Vaccinators.
The teams explain possible symptoms and ask lots of questions about your health. The nurses were super friendly when SGN visited to be vaccinated. They were also very comforting towards those fearful of needles!
Although somewhat overshadowed by the political crisis, Samoa’s vaccination moves ahead, and work on the ground continues.
And if you’re on Facebook like tens of thousands of Samoans, the Ministry urges that you do not believe or share fake news circulating about vaccinations. The only place to find legitimate information about Samoa’s vaccination programme is the regularly updated Ministry of Health page.
Today we say a prayer for Samoa’s vaccination roll out and the Covid-19 response teams as they continue to protect our borders from the global pandemic.
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