Papua New Guinea is expecting the delivery of the COVID-19 vaccine around April.
This was according to National Pandemic Controller David Manning who said, “We’re working closely with the Australian authorities to make sure that we have a fair share of the vaccination. At this point, we are looking (at) around April. As to what vaccination we will be seeking, further direction or advice from our Australian counterparts as to what is the best vaccination for us. We (are) taking on advice from the Australian health authorities as to what would be the preferable vaccination and once that (is decided), we will let the country know as to what vaccination we will be using. National Control Centre continues to provide that dialogue between PNG and Australian authorities as well as the World Health Organisation (WHO).”
Manning, who is also the Police Commissioner, said that the timeline would rely on the vaccination programme of Australia for the Pacific.
“We understand that there’s some concern raised by the public at large as to whether or not they want to subject themselves to vaccination,” he said. “We understand that (and) we recognise people’s individual rights. But for us to conduct ourselves as individuals and as a country in the context of the global community, we need to see what the rest of the world is doing and understand why they are doing it and allow us to at least approach this vaccination responsibly. There’s a lot of economies around the world that are insisting that some sort of vaccination needs to be done in order for us to participate at the global level in terms of whether it’s travel overseas for work or for studies.”
