PNG sent Covid-19 jabs in bid to head off virus

The vaccine rollout in Papua New Guinea has surpassed 50,000, but rugged terrain and remote villages make it a difficult task.

A precious cargo of Covid-19 vaccines from Australia arrives in Papua New Guinea’s Western Province, just across the Torres Strait from Cape York.

As the Esky bags bearing Covid vaccines were brought ashore to the tiny Papua New Guinean village of Sigabaduru last week, the small speck of land behind the health officials loomed large.

The small lump of land is Australia’s Saibai Island and it lies just 4km – a five-minute boat trip – south of the PNG mainland where the virus has ripped through the population.

Australia has been providing vaccines and logistical support as part of a humanitarian effort.

Free movement between Torres Strait and PNG under the Torres Strait Treaty has been banned since the start of the pandemic, but there are fears the virus could spread into the Torres Strait Islands and across to Cape York.

Community leader Salee Keeget Kebie rolled up the sleeve of his T-shirt bearing the slogan “Western Province Covid champion” to receive his AstraZeneca vaccine.

“It was just a little needle, a quick vaccination and no pain, symptoms or side effects,” he said.

“We’ve been worried (about the virus) because we travel almost every week to Daru to do our shopping.

“I was worried anybody could pick up the virus from Daru and bring it back.”

Mr Kebie said only a small portion of the 1200 Sigabaduru villagers were opposed to the vaccine and that uptake in the village among adults was “between 80 and 90 per cent”.

The remainder will be vaccinated when more doses arrive later this month.

Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch, who spoke with locals in the Western Province this week, said there was excitement among the villagers being vaccinated.

“Here we are in Australia and everybody’s arguing about their choice of what vaccine they will have and won’t have; in the Western Province they arrive in banana boats and are carried up across the mudflats by rangers,” Mr Entsch said.

“I hope Australians embrace the vaccine with the same level of enthusiasm these guys do.

Only a small fraction of the entire PNG population has been vaccinated and there is a rush to roll out the bulk of the country’s vaccines, which need to be used by the end of the month.

Nearly 50,000 people had been vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine as of June 22.

The rollout in the Western Province was launched on June 11, in a region which has an estimated five doctors for a population of about 230,000.

PNG’s Covid control centre said there were 2391 confirmed cases of the virus in the Western Province as of June 23.

PNG is considering banning international flights in a bid to prevent the spread of the Delta strain of Covid in the country.

PNG Police Commissioner and Controller of the National Pandemic Response David Manning on Thursday said he was closely monitoring developments and would close borders and ban flights if necessary.