Samoa’s Ministry of Health is moving to ensure all nurses are ready to administer COVID-19 vaccines when they arrive.
Director General of Health Leausa Dr. Take Naseri told media this week that this preparation is the result of lessons learned during the 2019 measles outbreak.
‘’We want to make sure that every registered nurse is able to administer vaccines. This will allow more people to be immunized more quickly,’’ he said.
He added this is one of the reasons the National Emergency Operations Center advised the government to delay flights scheduled for late February and early March.
Leausa said Samoa will be administering the AstraZeneca vaccine which is more manageable under tropical weather conditions.
The AstraZeneca vaccine is produced in India and is one of two that have been given Emergency Use listing by the World Health Organization.
The vaccine is expected in the country by the end of March.
