Pregnant mothers

Port Moresby General Hospital CEO, Dr. Paki Molumi and NCD PHA CEO Dr. Steven Yanie in a recent press conference said pregnant mothers must take the two dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine to minimize severe infection from the disease.

“The volume of the lungs is compromised by the pregnancy. If you get COVID-19, it is further compromised. If you get one dose, you have not reached immunity or it is like you haven’t been vaccinated at all. You need to take your second dose to be fully immunized,” added Dr. Molumi.  

Hunter Medical Research Institute scientist Adam Collison who ran the study called it an "amazing finding".

"Ultimately, it means that kids will grow up without asthma who would have had it," Dr Collison said.

The breath test measured levels of nitric oxide, a marker of lung inflammation.

In the study, half the participants were prescribed medication doses based on how the women assessed their own symptoms.

The other half kept track of how they felt, but they were also assessed more precisely using the breath test.

O’Neill said the Government will be making this compulsory in the next parliament session in January 2017.

He said the Government will fund this initiative especially in rural areas.

He added that the health department will be advising the government on this imitative and will move to implement it.

“Our Government will fund mothers from villages to come and stay at urban areas to have their babies delivered and returned.

“This way, our infant mortality rate will drop,” he said.