As Vanuatu’s vaccination campaign continues to roll out nationwide, the news is good, but perhaps not as good as it could be.
The absolute shambles in official communication relating to an unauthorised flight from Noumea that introduced what may be the first case of COVID-19’s Delta variant is ongoing.
We hope that regulations were followed and all passengers were fully vaccinated, but this has never been communicated. And given that regulations were NOT followed in other regards, the question deserves a clear answer.
Fully vaccinated people are far less likely to transmit the virus.
An
investigation into this debacle is ongoing, and is being conducted by the Public Service Commission. The Daily Post reports that Vanuatu’s Consul to New Caledonia and the Director of the National Disaster Management Office have both been suspended on full pay pending the outcome of the investigation.
It beggars belief that these two were the only ones who knew about the flight, and either helped or allowed it to happen. Air Vanuatu management have a great many questions to answer, as do many others.
It’s in the national interest that we see a thorough and complete investigation. This kind of folly can cost lives.
Elsewhere in the annals of miscommunication, Parliamentary Clerk Raymond Manuake told the Daily Post that he’d
received no instructions relating to a threat made by DPM Ishmael Kalsakau that unvaccinated MPs would not be allowed in the parliamentary chamber. It’s kind of a shame, because the majority of people would likely support such a measure.
Now, to (mostly) better news. Here’s our vaccination progress in a nutshell:
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