The Solomon Islands COVID-19 outbreak –– which began with the illegal entry of a vessel from Papua New Guinea to Ontong Java last week –– has seen case numbers explode from a handful to over 80 overnight. The nation’s low vaccination coverage is worrying health experts across the Pacific.

Fiji’s high vaccine coverage is an outlier among Pacific Island Countries. Most still have low coverage due to issues of accessibility, leaving them deeply vulnerable to outbreaks of the highly contagious Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus. The Solomon Islands is yet to secure sufficient vaccines and –– due to its remote location –– does not have a reliable means of flying in vaccines and distributing them across the country.

Fiji’s experience shows that Pacific Island citizens can be receptive to vaccination with sufficient access to good information and the vaccines themselves. We hope at Fijian Insight that our brothers and sisters in the Sols can learn from Fiji’s experience and get vaccine numbers up quickly to stay ahead of the spread of COVID-19.

Viral samples have yet to be analysed to determine which strain is fuelling the Solomon Islands outbreak, but the fast pace of the spread points to either Delta or Omicron as the likely suspects.

The virus has since spread to Guadalcanal, prompting a lockdown in Honiara that is due to finish tomorrow morning. Nine cases are in the Emergency Department at the National Referral Hospital, three are staff and the rest are patients.