SAIPAN, (MARIANAS VARIETY) —-The Covid-19 vaccines for the CNMI will arrive on Thursday and the first vaccination will be held on Saturday, Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. Chief Executive Officer Esther Muna said.
CHCC is expecting the arrival of 7,475 doses and plans to vaccinate 3,700 individuals.
Muna said they will administer two shots of the vaccines, 21 days apart, to each individual.
On 11December, the Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorization or EUA for the Pfizer vaccine.
“The EUA approval means that the vaccine manufactured by Pfizer meets its safety and effectiveness standards,” CHCC stated.
It added that it will follow the recommendation of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, under the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to prioritize people working in healthcare settings, first-responder agencies, and people living with underlying health conditions.
On Guam, the first shipment of Covid-19 vaccines arrived on a United flight on Tuesday.
It added that Guam Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero and Lt. Gov. Joshua Tenorio were on the tarmac when the aircraft landed at the A.B. Won Pat International Airport. The flight delivered the first batch of Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines.
The governor’s spokesperson, Krystal Paco-San Agustin, said the first vaccines will be administered this week.
Governor Ralph DLG Torres, for his part, extended the public health emergency for the CNMI.
On Tuesday, he renewed Executive Order 2020-04, which declares a State of Public Health Emergency and a continued Declaration of a State of Significant Emergency to establish response, quarantine, and preventive containment measures concerning Covid-19.
The governor also renewed Executive Order 2020-07, which ordered the CNMI Homeland Security and Emergency Management Office, through the CNMI Covid-19 Task Force and in partnership with CHCC, to undertake necessary Covid-19 containment measures to protect the health and safety of the public.
“Covid-19 continues to pose a significant and imminent threat of harm to the community, environment and people of the CNMI,” the governor said. “Emergency declarations are necessary to respond, quarantine and ensure the prevention of or containment of Covid-19 in the CNMI.”
As of 15 December, the CNMI had 113 total confirmed cases of Covid-19 since March 28, 2020.
Of this number, 86 cases were identified through travel screening and 27 were diagnosed through community-based testing and contact tracing…. PACNEWS