An island north-east of Australia has become the first to have given the coronavirus vaccine to its whole adult population.
In fact the vaccination programme on Nauru, an island in the country of Micronesia, has technically seen 108 per cent of the adult population given a first dose of a Covid jab with 7,392.
That’s because the current adult population now exceeds the official 6,812 adult population figure from the most recent census in 2019.
Nauru’s previous claim to fame is that it is the world’s fattest nation, with more than 70% of inhabitants classed as obese.
The vaccination figures mean 63 per cent of the overall population have now been vaccinated as part of Nauru’s four-week roll-out of the first dose, which ended last Friday.
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Officials hailed the results of the two-shot AstraZeneca programme saying “our prayers have been answered”.
Health Minister Isabella Dageago stated in Parliament that “Nauru has been blessed with a supply of vaccine, enough to enable us to immunise 100 percent of our adult population”, RNZ news outlet reports.
But the National Coronavirus Taskforce nonetheless urged caution as it said travellers still pose a risk of coronavirus entering and spreading around.
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That while “recent events in PNG, Fiji and India have shown how quickly the situation can change”.
The immunisation efforts took place by giving individuals allocated time slots although walk-ins were also welcomed.
There was a deadline for everyone to have their first shot of the vaccine by May 7 to allow eight weeks before the second shot was administered ahead of a mid-July expiry of the vaccine supply.
It means that those who have so far missed out on the chance of getting their first dose can do so now, with Public Health urging people to do come forward for it.
