Compulsory COVID-19 vaccination

PSC is considering this as an urgent matter to address reports the Vanuatu Daily Post.

With the Government announcing its intention to reopen borders in March - depending on the vaccination rate - Chairman Simil Johnson said this is an option that his office will work on.

The commission is gathering information to advise the Council of Ministers on this matter.

Johnson reminded everyone of the global impact posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. Even Vanuatu's neighbouring countries are reporting increased cases every day.

New Caledonia, which closed its borders in March last year, is COVID-19 free but just 32 percent of the population has been vaccinated.

A leading physician Thierry De Greslan told a meeting in Noumea that the number of vaccinated people must be doubled within a month and to achieve this, jabs must be made mandatory.

The head of the employer's federation Mimsy Daly said all medical staff, including pharmacists, should be mobilised to roll out vaccines every day as to give the territory a chance to deal with the threat.