![Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong [Photo: Fijian Government]](https://www.fijivillage.com/news_images/707468520612939bd3f668aed82fc3.jpg)
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong has confirmed eleven COVID deaths - two of these deaths are children and three were fully vaccinated individuals who had existing medical conditions that placed them at higher risk of severe disease.
Doctor Fong says he knows that some of you have heard the recent claims made by certain members of the community that vaccines don’t work, but he reminds you that COVID-19 vaccines provide a person with the best protection from becoming seriously ill, hospitalised or dying from COVID-19.
He says global studies and what we learn from other countries like the UK, show us how effective these vaccines are at reducing the number of persons who become seriously ill, hospitalised or dying from COVID-19 by providing a person up to 92% protection.
However the Permanent Secretary says, like any other vaccine, there is a small chance that people who have been partially or fully vaccinated can still get infected with COVID-19, and sadly fully vaccinated people can still get severe COVID-19 and die.
He says 92% is not 100%, and no vaccine offers 100% protection because the effectiveness of vaccines depends on an individual’s immune response.
Doctor Fong says the risk of death in fully vaccinated individuals increases if someone has a medical condition that weakens their immune system, for example, diabetes, heart disease, chronic kidney disease, obesity, or they are in an older age group.
He says these deaths in fully vaccinated individuals are rare, however, we can expect to see these as we continue to see widespread transmission in our community.
However Doctor Fong says the evidence is very clear that vaccines lower your risk of severe disease and death if you get infected with COVID-19.
He says of the 477 deaths recorded in Fiji during this outbreak: 371(77.8%) were not vaccinated, 103 were partially vaccinated (21.6%), and 3 (0.6%)were fully vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says therefore, 99.4% of people who have died due to COVID-19 in Fiji were not fully vaccinated.
With the announcement of the death of 2 children, Doctor Fong says these losses show us a new picture of how the virus is impacting our community.
An 11 year old girl from Naboutini was declared dead on arrival at the Navua Hospital while a 6 month infant from Nausori Highlands died at Lautoka Hospital 20 days after admission.
He says the death of a child is always terrible and sadly COVID-19 does not discriminate.
Doctor Fong says whilst we know children are at significantly lower risk of suffering severe COVID-19, unfortunately as we continue to see the virus spread in our community, we will see children being infected and some tragically dying from COVID-19.
He says this is why he cannot reinforce enough, whilst COVID-19 vaccines are critically important, we must all continue to practice other COVID-19 safety measures if we want to see a drop in COVID-19 cases in our community.
This means wearing a mask properly, keeping physical distance from others outside our household, washing our hands regularly and avoiding crowds.
The Permanent Secretary says without these measures, plus high levels of vaccination coverage, we can expect to see COVID-19 continue to spread in our communities and find those who are most vulnerable.
