Deputy Controller Dr. Esorom Daoni is urging all Papua New Guineans to get vaccinated and not to be complacent.
Dr Daoni’s plea follows the drop in the number of people going for vaccination, unlike that in October. He added this might have linked to the drop in the number of COVID-19 cases reported this month as compared to last month.
As of Thursday, 25th November, 2021 a total of 272,141 have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, which is 14.6 per cent of the target population of 1869, 279 for 2021.
Those fully vaccinated stand at 201,318, which is 10.8 per cent of the target population for 2021. So far, 359,659 doses of the three vaccines have been administered, 227,858 (63.4%) were for Astrazeneca, 113,800 (31.6%) were for Johnson and Johnson and 18,001 (5%) were for Sinopharm.
Dr Daoni said to stop the virus from spreading, people must get the vaccine and by adhering to the Niupela Pasin strategies and interventions.
“A lot of people came to get vaccinated when they saw the cases increasing and people dying, but when the numbers dropped, the number of people coming for vaccination also declined,’’ he said.
“This reflects the general behaviour of our people in all health matters. They do not take preventive measures until something happens to them and they react. This is why we had lost so many people in this wave, driven mainly by Delta variant.’’
He added that people cannot expect to be protected against the virus, only a few days after being vaccinated.
“It takes time for the vaccine to work, so people have to be smart and get vaccinated when they are well and healthy,” Dr Daoni added.
Despite the drop, the number of new COVID-19 cases reported daily is still high. As of November 24, 2021, there were 102 new cases reported raising the country’s confirmed cases to 34,707. There were also 13 new deaths, which raised the confirmed known deaths to 542.
