Fiji receives first batch of COVID-19 vaccines
Xinhua
1615033977000

File Photo: AFP

SUVA, March 6 (Xinhua) -- Fiji received on Saturday night the first batch of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines.

The handover of the vaccines was held at the Nadi International Airport, about 200 km west of capital city Suva, with the participation of Fijian Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama, Health Minister Ifereimi Waqainabete and representatives of the diplomatic corps in Fiji.

James Fong, permanent secretary of Fiji's Health Ministry, said earlier that Fiji gets the amounts of AstraZeneca vaccine through the COVAX Facility.

The first set of people to be vaccinated in Fiji will be frontline health workers and members of the disciplined forces helping in the manning of quarantine facilities.

Fiji has had 63 COVID-19 cases in total, with seven active cases, 54 recoveries and two deaths since its first case was reported on March 19 last year.

Currently, more than 30,000 laboratory tests of COVID-19 have been conducted in Fiji, which has a population of around 900,000.