The roll out of Tonga’s COVID-19 vaccination program is expected to start on 15 April, the Minister for Health Hon Dr ‘Amelia Tu’i’pulotu announced last night, soon after the first 24,000 doses of the COVID-19 AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccines arrived at the airport.

Frontliners and people vulnerable to the virus will be the first to receive the jab. This includes staff from the Health Ministry, Tonga Police, His Majesty’s Armed Forces, Tonga Fire and Emergency Services, the ports and airport.

The vaccine roll-out will be managed by a National Technical Working Group, working closely with the World Health Organization and UNICEF to support health workers and all stakeholders involved.

This includes capacity building for frontline workers, coordinating resources for safe storage and vaccination capacity and providing timely information and knowledge to the public about vaccine. 

The Minister said Tonga is not new to immunization and in the past the Ministry has had great success with vaccine rollout due to communities cooperating well.

Tonga is the third Pacific Island country to receive the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine from COVAX.