New Zealand, one of the first few countries to fight the COVD-19 pandemic not once, but twice, has also acquired enough COVID-19 vaccine dosages from AstraZeneca and Novavax, which will guarantee all its 5 million residents will get the shot.
Furthermore, all vaccine shots will be free for its citizens.
But more than that, the country and its officials have also promised that neighboring countries in the Pacific will also get the vaccine shots.
New Zealand Confirms Two More COVID-19 Vaccine Deals
In a report by NPR, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and the rest of the government officials have announced that they will be taking a step further to creating the biggest immunization rollout as of now.
According to the news conference held on Thursday, December 17, the free COVID-19 vaccine doses will also be offered to the population of neighboring nations including Samoa, Cook Islands, Niue, Tuvalu, Tokelau, and Tonga, should they want them.
"Never before has the entire globe sought to vaccinate the entire population at the same time," Ardern said during the news conference. "This will be a sustained rollout over months not weeks but our pre-purchase agreements means New Zealand is well-positioned to get on with it as soon as it is proven safe to do so."
The country has initially secured doses from Pfizer-BioNTech and Janssen Pharmaceutica.
The new deals with AstraZeneca and Novavax will bring 7.6 million doses for 3.8 million people, and 10.72 million doses enough for 5.36 million people, respectively.
Both vaccines will require two doses each for full effect.
As of writing, the country has pre-ordered a total of 15 million vaccine shots that will be free for everyone, including their neighboring nations.
'No One Misses Out'
According to Ardern, they secured various types of vaccines to allow the possibility of particular population groups to acquire a more suitable vaccine, or deploy them to different areas.
Meanwhile, New Zealand's Minister of Research, Science and Innovation, Megan Woods, said that the approach of choosing a variety of vaccines guarantees that "no one misses out," and that the investment was "worth making" despite the country securing more doses than what they need.
Furthermore, the prime minister confirmed that they are currently working with Australia to bring more COVID-19 doses around the wider Pacific.
Once the vaccines from AstraZeneca and Novavax bring positive results, the country will start its vaccination process early next year, starting with border-control personnel and other essential workers on the frontlines.
The general population will follow in the second half of 2021.
Border Lockdown Will Remain
Nevertheless, the officials reminded the people of New Zealand that the arrival of the vaccine does not mean they could quickly lift the country's borders, which aided them in keeping the virus at bay.
Besides New Zealand, the United States, which has the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the world since the early days of the pandemic, is also taking steps to guarantee that vaccines will be accessible to its citizens for free.
Related Article: US COVID-19 Vaccine Schedule: Here's How Long You Would Wait According to UNICEF - Vaccination Starts Today!
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Written by: Nhx Tingson
