Samoa has today received its first delivery of vaccines from Australia, with 10,000 domestically manufactured AstraZeneca doses arriving in Apia, as Australia works together with our neighbours in their response to COVID-19.
This allocation is part of the Morrison Government's commitment to share up to 15 million doses with the Pacific and Timor-Leste by mid-2022 to support health and economic recovery.
Vaccines are one of the most effective ways to combat the virus and protect the health and security of our region.
Samoa's strong public health management has allowed the country to remain free of COVID-19.
Australia's support of Samoa's COVID-19 vaccination roll-out extends beyond the provision of vaccines, including funding for 'Tamanu', an Australian-developed electronic patient record system that will account for vaccines administered, as well as access to Australian technical advice on vaccine safety and research.
This delivery is in addition to Australia's commitment of $130 million to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC), which has delivered 52,800 vaccines to Samoa so far.
We will continue to work in partnership with our Pacific family in responding to this pandemic.
