Pratika leads by example in the fight against COVID-19 in Fiji
Reaching health workers with COVID-19 vaccines in Fiji and the Pacific
“Please, take the COVID-19 vaccine, it is safe. Do it for your family and for our country.”
This was the message from Pratika Singh, Infection Prevention Control Nurse at the Nadi Hospital. Pratika has been working as a frontline health worker in Fiji, responding to the COVID-19 pandemic since last year.
When travel and border restrictions were implemented, Pratika was asked to screen passengers who were arriving from affected countries and traveling to Nadi International Airport.
“I was so happy to be selected. Initially my colleagues were a little scared about the coronavirus, but then they also stepped forward to support.”
Pratika was one of the first health workers in Fiji to look after patients who tested positive for COVID-19.
“From Nadi Airport, I was deployed to the Nadi Hospital Isolation Unit and I was away from my family for almost two months. My parents are elderly, and I did not want to expose them to the virus, so I took every precaution.”
Pratika was finally reunited with her family in April but she continued to follow the isolation protocols.
Fiji becomes first country to receive COVAX vaccines in the Pacific
On March 6, Fiji became the first country in the Pacific to receive the vaccines under the COVAX initiative. The first batch of 12,000 life-saving vaccine doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine was shipped and delivered to Fiji by the COVAX Facility in an unprecedented effort to provide at least two billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines globally by the end of 2021.
Pratika was one of the first health workers in Fiji to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
“When I was informed that I would be the first to receive the vaccine, I gave thanks to the Lord.”
Pratika added, “I am encouraging my colleagues to be vaccinated as we work on the frontlines and face higher risks of exposure to the virus.”
“The Ministry, in collaboration with UNICEF and WHO, are going to great efforts to keep Fiji and our communities safe.”
Reaching health workers like Pratika with COVID-19 vaccines is a priority
Frontline health workers like Pratika, have risked their own health and worked selflessly to care for and protect families from COVID-19.
As they protect us, we must protect them also. Through the COVAX Facility, UNICEF is working to ensure COVID-19 vaccines are available to health workers in Fiji and the Pacific.
About the COVAX Facility
The COVAX Facility is co-led by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, WHO and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and ensures developing countries have equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines. UNICEF is leading on procurement and the delivery of vaccines.
COVAX is the only global initiative that is working with governments and manufacturers to ensure COVID-19 vaccines are available worldwide to both higher-income and lower-income countries.
