Red flags ‘everywhere’
As you drive the coastal highway out of Apia it becomes clear Samoa’s call for a country-wide shutdown to vaccinate its people is needed.
The biblical approach of getting unvaccinated locals to pin a red flag to the front of their homes to identify themselves is telling – flags are everywhere.
On Monday, Stuff went out with the first fleet of government volunteers to the small seaside village of Lalomanu as the mass campaign began, targetting all ages rather than specific age groups.
Hundreds of medical and government volunteers gathered outside the National Emergency HQ in Apia at 6am before travelling the breadth of the country.
Yesterday was day one of a government-ordered two-day shutdown to allow hundreds of volunteers from Samoa and across the globe to infiltrate every home in a bid to vaccinate the masses against a deadly measles outbreak.
Of the 62 who have died since the measles epidemic started in the country, 57 were children under the age of 15, while 26 of those were babies less than one year old.
Joshua Selesele will probably be one of the lucky teens unaffected. He was one of the first to be vaccinated in his village of Vailele yesterday.
‘‘I won’t die because I have this [vaccine].’’
Joshua Selesele
Outside his home, he stood by an old red rag that was tied to a power pole.
‘‘Over here, that’s where they put the needle in,’’ Selesele said, pointing to a pinprick that was virtually impossible to see.
‘‘They came here at 8.30 this morning, they told me to stay home and not go out and eat good nutritious food,’’ he said.
Selesele wasn’t the only one in his home to receive the lifesaving vaccine. Twelve members of his family ranging in age from 2 to 40 years old were also vaccinated.
‘‘I won’t die because I have this [vaccine],’’ he said.
During the shutdown, Samoans are being urged to stay at home and let mobile vaccinators come to them.
Those who have been vaccinated are being asked to register their details with a data entry volunteer working alongside the vaccinators. The shutdown runs from 7am to 5pm yesterday and today.
Only vehicles belonging to exempt services are allowed on the road and inter-island travel between Upolu and Savaii is prohibited unless it is for National Emergency Operations, medical assistance or overseas travel.
Across Samoa, homes with the red marker are waiting for their turn to be saved.
Only time will tell if the mammoth effort to vaccinate everyone has come in time.