Over 5,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine has been rolled out in Papua New Guinea which included about 604 non-Chinese citizens at the Port Moresby General Hospital since Thursday last week.
The vaccine Sinopharm is one of two main coronavirus vaccines from China that got the nod from the World Health Organization to be rolled out in PNG in May and to date has been administered to at least 5,233 people in PNG.
Furthermore, an additional 98 people have also received the Sinopharm vaccine on Monday, 26 July.
This is according to the China Medical Team deputy leader Dr. Liu Zhenqui who revealed when donating equipment and consumables to assist the Port Moresby General Hospital in rolling out vaccinations.
Since the launch of the Sinopharm vaccine at the hospital on 13th July, 2021, the Chinese Medical Team has been working in partnership with the local team to ensure that vaccinations are carried out.
“We are so glad to have a chance to be here to make this donation to make the rollout of Sinopharm vaccine more convenient for our people in PNG,” said Dr. Liu.
He said that people have been lining up at the hospital as early as 6 a.m. or 7 a.m. to be vaccinated and as “vaccines is the most helpful means to fight against the pandemic” more should be done to ensure many others are vaccinated too.
Director Medical Services Dr. Kone Sobi thanked the team for handing over the donation on behalf of the Chinese Embassy and the People’s Republic of China and said,
“The whole idea is that by vaccinating people, we can reduce the incidence of transmission and hopefully get out of this pandemic as soon as possible.”
The items from the donation included a refrigerator, a cold chain box, and 1000 sets of isolation suits, 5000 gloves, 5000 masks, 5 temperature guns and 20 pieces of ice bricks.