The first batch of 63,000 doses of meningococcal vaccine arrived at the Fiji Pharmaceutical Building in Nabua yesterday.

Receiving the first batch on behalf of the Ministry, National Advisor Family Health Doctor Torika Tamani says the Ministry is indeed happy that the vaccines have finally arrived.

She says there will be two other shipments where the second shipment will arrive on Monday and third one to come in next Wednesday for the first 124,000 dose to be received to complete the first phase.

Dr Tamani says they are only half way there after this then the work will begin with Nurses who will have to deliver vaccines to each and every child from the age of 1 to 19 years all over Fiji.

Training for health workers that will administer the vaccine will begin on Monday.

According to the Health Ministry, 24 are laboratory confirmed cases and 34 are suspected or probable cases.

38 meningococcal disease cases have been reported in the Central Division, 17 in the Western Division, 2 in the Northern Division and 1 case in the Eastern Division.

Out of the total number of people that have meningococcal, 66.7% are males.