Covid-19 vaccination

According to the Ministry, 75 percent are fully vaccinated.

The Daily Post reports 75 percent to 83 percent of the eligible population in the provinces of SHEFA, SANMA, TORBA, MALAMPA and PENAMA have been fully vaccinated.

Coverage is still lagging behind in TAFEA Province, with over 60 percent of its eligible population still to be fully vaccinated.

Fifty-two percent of TAFEA’s eligible population have received at least one dose. 23, 829 population are eligible for the Covid-19 vaccine.

Acting Director of Curative & Hospital Services, Dr. Sereana Natuman said, “Covid-19 vaccines offer pregnant women strong protection against severe illness from Covid-19. I urge everyone, especially pregnant women, to get their vaccine soon so that they can take advantage of this crucial protection.”

Speaking exclusively to the BBC, he said missing competitions, such as the French Open, over his jab status was "the price that I'm willing to pay".

The 20-time Grand Slam winner was deported from Australia last month after the government cancelled his visa in a row over his vaccine status.

Djokovic described the conditions while he was detained as "very hard".

He said he had not spoken out in the media at the time - despite wanting to - as he wanted to respect the legal process and the Australian Open.

70 per cent of the eligible population have been fully vaccinated.

According to the ministry, the percentages mean Port Vila has achieved the target.

The ministry also reported that 88 per cent of SHEFA’s 57, 103 eligible population have received one dose, 69 per cent have taken both doses.

For SANMA, 89 per cent of the 28, 197 eligible citizens have received their first doses and 72 per cent are fully vaccinated.

Vanuatu has administered a total of 178, 646 doses of Covid-19 vaccines since the roll-out began last year.

For evidence, look no further than the shenanigans surrounding Novak Djokovic and his attempted participation in the Australian Open tennis championships.

Instead of challenging for a record-breaking 21st Grand Slam title in Melbourne, Serbia's biggest sporting star found himself in the slammer, after immigration officials found fault with his paperwork.

His country's president, Aleksandar Vucic, led the chorus of outrage in Belgrade, following a phone call with the incarcerated ace.

The player arrived in Melbourne on Wednesday where authorities noticed a mistake on his application.

Djokovic was due to play in the Australian Open, after being exempted from vaccination rules.

He will be flown out of the country later on Thursday but his lawyers will challenge the decision, Australian media report.

Photo file  Caption: :World number one tennis player Novak Djokovic     

Vanuatu's Minister of Health, Sailas Bule, said the government of Vanuatu asked for Johnson and Johnson vaccines to better respond to the challenges of distance and storage, as other covid vaccines cannot reach the people who live in remote areas.

Mr Bule said Vanuatu's ministry of health has a distribution plan in place for getting the covid vaccine to remote areas including the west coast of Santo.

He said Vanuatu should be proud it has remained Covid free apart from five cases that have been managed at the border.

The directive was announced by New Zealand Rugby today.

Under the Government and Sport New Zealand's Covid-19 Protection Framework, gatherings in the Red traffic light setting which do not use Covid-19 Vaccination Certificates are limited to 25 people.

In the Red setting, 15-a-side rugby competitions would be unable to proceed without the use of Covid vaccination certificates due to the restriction on numbers.

185 eligible adult population have received at least one dose of either Sinopharm or AstraZeneca vaccine, according to the Ministry of Health.

MOH also confirmed that 66% of adults in high priority areas have received one dose and 27% are fully vaccinated against coronavirus.

High priority areas are locations identified as being at higher risk of COVID-19 importation or transmission.

Vaccination for 18 years and above is ongoing in all provinces. In Port Vila, vaccination is being conducted at George Pompidou.

Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said yesterday he expected advice from Medsafe in a couple of weeks and the rollout should start in late January.

But some are urging officials to move faster as a number of schools shut down for days because of infected students or staff.

Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said while there were no plans at this stage to bring the timeframe forward, it was still under advice.