Samoa looks to boost capacity to administer Covid-19 vaccines, American Samoa's hospital recieves materal health grant, and Guam marks 500th anniversary of Magellan visit.
Photo: AFP
Samoa's looks to boost capacity to administer Covid-19 vaccines
Samoa's Ministry of Health is moving to ensure all nurses are ready to administer the Covid-19 vaccine when it arrives.
The Director General of Health said they want to make sure that every registered nurse is able to administer the vaccine to allow more people to be immunised.
Leausa Dr Take Naseri said Samoa would be administering the AstraZeneca vaccine which is more manageable under tropical weather conditions.
The vaccine is produced in India and is one of two that have been given Emergency Use Listing by the World Health Organisation.
TV1Samoa reported Leausa saying the need to prepare well for vaccination was one of the lessons learned during the 2019 measles outbreak.
He added that the National Emergency Operations Center has advised the government to delay flights that were scheduled for late February and early March.
The vaccine is expected in the country by the end of March.
American Samoa gets maternal health grant
American Samoa's only hospital is been award a grant of almost $US700,000 to establish a maternal telemedicine network
The grant to LBJ Medical Center comes from the US Department of Agriculture's Rural Development investment program.
It aimed to help rural residents gain access to heath care and educational opportunities across the United States.
The network will provide access to maternal-fetal medicine specialist services not current available in the territory.
Under the maternal telemedicine network, ultrasound images will be recorded at LBJ hospital and transmitted to maternal fetal medicine specialists at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu.
The funding will also provide improved access to routine care for women who live on American Samoa's islands.
For pregnant women who live on islands of Ofu or Ta'u, parental care requires an eight-hour boat ride to the main island of Tutuila to visit the only hospital.
The proposed project and partnership with the the University of Hawaii will deliver direct services to patients in American Samoa.
Guam marks 500th anniversary of Magellan visit
Chamorro sailors in traditional vessels have welcomed a Spanish Navy tall-ship to Guam's waters marking the 500th anniversary of Magellan's visit in 1521.
The Portuguese explorer's visit, in the service of Spain, led to 230 years of Spanish colonisation.
Today the Spanish Navy's Juan Sebastián de Elcano arrived in Guam following Ferdinand Magellan's circumnavigation of the globe.
Several Chamorro outrigger sailing vessels, known as sakman, escorted the tall-ship into port.
The Spanish ship will continue on to the Philippines before returning home to Cadiz.
The crew will remain isolated from locals on Guam due to Covid-19 restrictions.
