PINA

Samoan Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mataafa is calling for the public’s continuous support for the Government’s vaccination programme to ensure our country reaches herd immunity.

Fiame said as of Wednesday last week, close to 95 percent of the eligible population have received their first doses of the Astra Zeneca vaccine, and close to 60 percent have completed their second doses.

“I want to encourage our people to continue their support for the Government’s COVID-19 vaccination programme spearheaded by the Ministry of Health to ensure our country reaches herd immunity,” says Prime Minister Mata’afa.

“The aim is to meet the target percentage of vaccinated people by the end of November to ensure that our country continues to be COVID free.”

Mata’afa also acknowledged the vaccination campaign rolled out by the National Emergency Operation Centre and the Ministry of Health last month.

“The Government wants to acknowledge the work by the vaccination teams and also the support by heads of Government Ministries and Corporations and everyone who contributed to this campaign.”

Health’s Director General, Leausa Dr. Take Naseri in the NEOC Press Conference last Friday said 115,274 of the eligible population of about 122,000 have received their first doses of the Astra Zeneca vaccine, and 68,343 have completed their second doses since the vaccination roll out started in April this year.

“The concern is, if we accumulate the number of eligible people who have already done their second doses, there are over 6,000 who haven’t received their second doses,” said Leausa who urged the public to visit any fixed site or district hospital to receive their vaccinations.

“Our fixed sites and district hospitals are still open for conducting your second doses from Monday to Friday before the last batch of our vaccine expires on the 30th of November.

“This is why we are urging the public to make an effort to receive your vaccinations.”

Leausa also referred to the situation in Fiji and the United States where the majority of people who died because of COVID-19 are unvaccinated.

“There was also a death reported from New Zealand which confirmed that the deceased was unvaccinated.
“You have to complete your two doses and also understand that this vaccine is our protection from the pandemic.

“I call on the over 6,000 eligible population to please get vaccinated.”

Meanwhile, Samoa Cabinet has approved repatriations flights throughout October to accommodate returning Samoans and to transport Samoans to work as seasonal workers with Australia’s Seasonal Workers Program, (SWP) and the Pacific Labour Mobility Scheme.

The first flight from Australia on Monday did not have passengers since it is dedicated to transport seasonal workers to Down Under.

The second flight scheduled for later in the week will include Samoans returning home and will depart with more Samoan seasonal workers recruited by businesses and farms in Australia.

There are two planned repatriation flights originating from New Zealand during the month and these flights are subject to change depending on unforeseen circumstances, NEOC Chairman and Secretary to Cabinet Agafili Tomaimanō Shem Leo has revealed.

He told a press conference last week that Cabinet is also monitoring the situation in Fiji with regular reports from Samoa’s Resident High Commissioner to Fiji base in Suva, Ali’ioaiga Feturi Elisaia.

And if warranted Samoan students and national employed by regional offices in Fiji will be repatriated home.

Agafili also reconfirmed that the Samoan student attending USP has fully recovered from COVID-19 and his condition is being monitored by health officials and the Resident High Commissioner.

As of Friday, the so called Travel Bubble with New Zealand is a myth, Agafili told the Press noting that the misinformation may have been prompted from the One Way Quarantine arrangement signed by Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mataafa and her New Zealand counterpart Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

That arrangement is exclusively for Samoan RSE workers heading to New Zealand for employment and there are plans to extend the One Way Quarantine agreement to resident medical patients needing specialised treatment in New Zealand funded by Government and for scholarship students.

As for all returning RSE workers, Agafili reiterated that they will still be required to the compulsory 14 day quarantine upon arrival before they are released to go home.

SOURCE: SAVALI NEWSPAPER/PACNEWS

Papua New Guinea Health Minister Jelta Wong has appealed for Members of Parliament to put aside party and personal politics and focus on the COVID-19 crisis.

Speaking in Parliament this week, Wong advocated for MPs to unify and help combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wong said “This is also a time when we need to put any party or personal politics aside in the interests of National Safety.

“As our country deals with this crisis it is no time for senseless politics – we need all Leaders to put differences aside, and work with a common resolve to fight back against COVID-19”.

Although Wong didn’t specify who, he said certain leaders are peddling conspiracy theories and are non-believers in vaccination.

Wong said “Sadly, some non-believers in this House have stood up and spoken against vaccination and contributed to fake news.

“Some have even claimed COVID-19 is not real, which is ridiculous considering the number of deaths we are now seeing from the Delta strain” he said.

Wong said “I ask how many leaders in this House have been encouraging their constituents to get vaccinated.

How many leaders are standing up and joining the Prime Minister to push for greater vaccination?”

“We all know the state of Provincial health services and with the wider uptake of vaccines, our people will not add to that burden – vaccination keeps people out of the healthcare system.”

“We need to work together to get more vaccines out in your provinces.

Our country needs all Leaders to be responsible on this important matter, to be responsible with your words and actions” he said.

Meanwhile, Opposition leader Belden Namah is disappointed with the Government’s poor response to mitigating the current surge in Covid-19 cases.

“I’m disappointed to discover that hospitals are running out of basic emergency equipment (needed) to treat Covid-19 patients,” he said.

“Where has the K5.7 billion (US$1.6 billion) Covid-19 stimulus package gone?

“I have been calling from the beginning for funds to be spent on border provinces and for strict control on sea and air ports with international access.

“There has been no response.

“I have called without success for detailed audits on all Covid-19 funds.

“Now, we are hearing the shortage of basic equipment needed for Covid-19 treatment.

“We are (also) hearing the scare tactics of Covid-19 deaths spiking, of equipment shortages and of lockdowns and restrictions.

“I do not underestimate the seriousness of the pandemic but we cannot operate in ignorance.

“Two years is a long time to gather the most basic data on this disease to establish (its) trends and patterns.

“Only then can our response be effective,” Namah said.

SOURCE: POST COURIER/THE NATIONA/PACNEWS

Deaths from tuberculosis – one of the top infectious killers in the world – have increased for the first time in a decade, as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Thursday.

New data from the UN health agency highlighted how years of global progress in tackling the preventable disease had been “reversed” since the pandemic overwhelmed health care systems in 2020, preventing vulnerable people from seeking help.

Lockdowns had also stymied many people’s access to essential health care services, WHO’s 2021 Global TB report insisted, before issuing the additional warning that the death toll from the disease “could be much higher in 2021 and 2022”, according to latest projections.

“This report confirms our fears that the disruption of essential health services due to the pandemic could start to unravel years of progress against tuberculosis,” said WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “This is alarming news that must serve as a global wake-up call to the urgent need for investments and innovation to close the gaps in diagnosis, treatment and care for the millions of people affected.”

Covering the response to the epidemic in 197 countries and areas, the TB report found that in 2020, some 1.5 million people died from TB in 2020 – more than in 2019.

This included 214,000 patients with HIV, the UN agency said, noting that the overall TB increase was mainly in 30 countries which include Angola, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines and Zambia.

Because of the new coronavirus pandemic, “challenges” which made it impossible to provide and access essential TB services left many people undiagnosed in 2020.

In a worrying development, WHO noted that the number of people newly diagnosed people with the disease fell from 7.1 million in 2019 to 5.8 million in 2020, meaning that far fewer people were diagnosed, treated or provided with TB preventive treatment compared with 2019.

Overall spending on essential TB services also fell, WHO said, adding that the highest drop in TB notifications between 2019 and 2020 were India (down 41 percent), Indonesia (14 percent), the Philippines (12 percent) and China (8 percent).

“These and 12 other countries accounted for 93 percent of the total global drop in notifications,” said WHO.

There was also a reduction in provision of TB preventative treatment. Some 2.8 million people accessed this in 2020, which was a 21 per cent reduction since 2019. In addition, the number of people treated for drug-resistant TB fell by 15 per cent, from 177,000 in 2019 to 150,000 in 2020, equivalent to only about one in three of those in need.

Today, some 4.1 million people suffer from TB but have not been diagnosed with the disease or their status has not been reported to national authorities. This is up from 2.9 million in 2019.

The report’s recommendations include a call for countries to put in place urgent measures to restore access to essential TB services, a doubling of investment in TB research and innovation and concerted action across the health sector and others to address the social, environmental and economic causes of TB and its consequences.

SOURCE: UN NEWS CENTRE/PACNEWS