The second batch of AstraZeneca is expected to arrive in the country next month.
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Medical Services Pauline McNeil announced this during the fortnightly talk-back show, Sunday.
She said according to the country’s donor partners the vaccine are expected to arrive next month, and that is the second batch of 108,000 doses.
However, she added, the country also had the offer from Australia that they can also consider to use.
Prime Minister (PM) Manasseh Sogavare in his nationwide address last week has confirmed that the Government of Australia will offer 60,000 of doses of AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured from the Commonwealth Serial Laboratory (CSL) in Melbourne.
He said Solomon Islands is one of the four countries in the region that has been prioritized to be the first recipient of the CSL manufacture AstraZeneca vaccine, the others being Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Timor Lester.
He said Australia plans to transport 10,000 doses of CSL vaccine per week for the first 60,000 doses.
“Our initial 10,000 of doses was reallocated to Timor Leste because we want to ensure our national drugs medicine and therapeutic committee had the opportunity to first consider and approve its use in Solomon Islands which will happen early this week.
“The CLS AstraZeneca vaccines are manufactured using the exact same formula as the AstraZeneca we have received from India,” he said.
By FOLLET JOHN
Newsroom, Honiara
