PALIKIR, Pohnpei (FSM Information Services) — As of March 4, 2021, 10% of the adult population of the Federated States of Micronesia had received their second dose of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine, which translates into 14% of the FSM’s minimum 70% target.
The State of Yap has vaccinated 38% of its adult population with the first dose of the vaccine, and 25% with the second dose.
The State of Chuuk has vaccinated 13% of its adult population with the first dose of the vaccine, and 6% with the second dose.
The State of Pohnpei has vaccinated 18% of its adult population with the first dose of the vaccine, and 9% with the second dose.
The State of Kosrae has vaccinated 29% of its population with the first dose of the vaccine, and 10% with the second dose.
All adults aged 18 and up are eligible to receive the Covid-19 vaccine. The FSM government encourages all citizens to do their part in protecting their families and their communities by getting their vaccine at the nearest available opportunity.
The U.S. government has informed the FSM that it can soon expect to increase its stockpiles of not only the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine but also the vaccine produced by Johnson & Johnson.
It is the intention of the FSM for the Moderna vaccine to cover the federation’s larger main islands as the Moderna vaccine is shipped in a solid state and, once it becomes liquid, must be used quickly.
The FSM wants to use the Johnson & Johnson vaccine — which is shipped in a liquid state — to vaccinate the remote atolls in the States of Yap, Chuuk, and Pohnpei.
“The good news is that we are making progress,” FSM President David W. Panuelo said in a statement. “The bad news is that the progress we are making, as a nation, is too slow. I applaud the efficiency of the State of Yap, which — if it were judged as a separate jurisdiction — has a higher vaccination rate than the Republic of Palau and the Republic of the Marshall Islands; conversely, I call upon the States of Chuuk, Pohnpei, and Kosrae to follow Yap’s example, and to expedite their delivery of the vaccine to as many communities as possible. We must all do our part to protect this paradise in our backyards from the Covid-19 virus by taking the vaccine to protect our families and our communities.”
David Panuelo
