Vanuatu's government is planning to begin the rollout of Covid-19 vaccinations early next month.
The country last night received a shipment of 24,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine through the COVAX facility.
Vanuatu's Ministry of Health says the doses were sent from Italy and came via Brisbane.
The arrival in Port Vila on Wednesday of 24,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine marks the seventh country for vaccines to arrive in the Pacific region through the COVAX Facility in the global partnership's effort to deliver at least two billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of 2021.
The Prime Minister Bob Loughman said while Vanuatu is free of the virus it cannot be complacent.
"Vanuatu has been fortunate to have been Covid-19-free for a long time thanks to the measures the Government had the foresight to implement. In that time, we have worked hard to put in place a national plan for rollout of the vaccine - an important tool to fight the pandemic.
"We are appreciative of a mechanism like the COVAX Facility that enabled Vanuatu to receive our first batch of Covid-19 vaccines to protect our frontliners. With no COVID-19 cases in the country, unlike our unfortunate Pacific neighbours, it is the opportune time for us to roll out the vaccination programme in a smooth and peaceful way to protect ourselves, our families, communities and future."