More doses of Moderna vaccines are expected this month to be delivered to Palau from the United States.
According to a February 9 public service announcement (PSA) by the Ministry of Health, that Palau is receiving more vaccines for February and “will announce when vaccination will resume for first dose recipients.”
The PSA at the same time urged the elderly, homebound patient caregivers, and people with underlying medical conditions such as hypertension or diabetes to get vaccinated when the vaccines arrive.
By the end of January, Palau had received more than 6,000 doses of the vaccine and had vaccinated more than 3,000 people.
According to MOH, since January 3, there were 3,109 people vaccinated with the first dose. By February 1, the second dose had been administered and as of Feb. 10, there were 417 people fully vaccinated, representing 2 percent of the 18,000 population.
The MOH said the next batch will still focus on the elderly and adults with underlying conditions.
President Surangel Whipps Jr. in his press conference on Wednesday said Palau will continue to receive the vaccines from the United States.
According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) website, for the month of February, there are 2,800 doses of vaccine allocated for Palau.
“The vaccine is coming regularly, should be arriving this week,” Whipps said.
The president added the allocation for the month could bring the total of people that will be vaccinated to over 4,000 people.
He added the vaccine had so far covered the frontline workers and hopefully the vaccination will expand to workers in hotels, restaurants.
“They are important because when we do open, in March, we want those people to be protected, ‘ he said.