Tonga could receive the CoViD-19 vaccines “maybe at the end of the first quarter or beginning of the second quarter of the year,” the Ministry of Health Acting CEO, Dr Reynold ‘Ofanoa, said today, 9 February.

However, he said this indication could change as there had been no set date confirmed for the arrival of vaccines in Tonga.

Last week, COVAX announced it expected to release the first doses of CoViD-19 vaccine in the first half of the year. Tonga has been listed to receive 43,200 indicative doses of the Astra Zeneca vaccine from a manufacturing source known as AZ/SKBio. At this stage, the number of doses is a guide only for the country to prepare for the rollout of the vaccine.

Minister for Health, Hon Dr ‘Amelia Tu’ipulotu said each person vaccinated would receive two doses of the vaccine.

Other countries such as New Zealand and Australia, and other partners are also offering more CoViD-19 vaccines to Tonga, she told a press briefing Tuesday morning.

Astra Zeneca vaccine

Recently, it has been reported that South Africa had paused the rollout of the Astra Zeneca vaccine after a study showed it offered minimal protection against a new CoViD-19 variant.

Hon. Dr Tu’ipulotu said although Astra Zeneca was one of the vaccines planned to be provided to Tonga, “this is not set in stone and there can be changes”.

She said the World Health Organization had not approved this vaccine for the emergency use listing.

“The reason is that WHO must receive all information on the vaccine on its effectiveness and how safe it is for all people.”

“With regards to the safety-net of the vaccine, we are currently working with the World Health Organization to provide data and the results of investigations with regards to the side effects of the vaccine, and for any other vaccine that will be distributed to Tonga.”

Meanwhile, Tonga’s health officials will keep an eye on the status of the Astra Zeneca vaccine.

21-days managed quarantine

The managed quarantine period in Tonga has been changed from 14 days to 21 days and passengers will no longer be required to spend seven days in home quarantine.

Dr ‘Ofanoa said the change was made due to overseas cases where people were still testing positive to COVID-19 after leaving quarantine. There were also new variants of the virus spreading, and he said it is important to ensure the safety of the country.

“We don’t want to give the virus the opportunity to spread and affect people’s lives.”

In addition, some repatriated passengers had broken the rules while completing seven days of home quarantine.

27 people breached home quarantine rules

Hon Dr Tu’ipulotu said a quarantine report on passengers found that during the seven days of home quarantine, 16 people left their homes, seven people received visitors, and four people held gatherings.

“That’s 27 cases that didn’t abide by the home quarantine rules. This is a very important part of the quarantine period.”

In the meantime, the government was currently covering costs of the extended managed quarantine at this time. However, passengers repatriated to work in Tonga such as consultants were paying for their own quarantine.

To date, a total of 1,624 passengers have been repatriated to Tonga.