More children die in Samoa
Five children have died in one night in Samoa as the measles epidemic continues to kill children at an alarming rate.
A total of 53 people have died. Of these, 50 were children under the age of 15 while 23 were babies aged less than one year old. Only one death has been an adult over the age of 18.
In just 24 hours a further 198 measles cases were also confirmed by the Ministry of Health. Those admitted to hospital included 19 critically ill children and two pregnant women and one post-natal.
The numbers continue to climb as national and international medics race against the clock to immunise the most vulnerable in the small Pacific Island nation.
Last night Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi said he would shut Government offices to assist with mass vaccinations. The Government will be closed on Thursday and Friday so employees can help with vaccinations and all that will remain open is the utilities office which deals with electricity and water.
Ten years ago the small seaside village of Lalomanu was devastated by a tsunami following a magnitude 8.1 earthquake. That disaster claimed 149 lives.
After a decade of relative peace, a different disaster looms over the people there.
Yesterday, the Samoan Ministry of Health said 53 people have died in the measles epidemic that is gripping the island nation. More are expected to die.
The nation is rushing to vaccinate its most vulnerable.
The Samoan Government is taking vaccines to the people, going to every village, every fale, to ensure mass vaccination.
Lalomanu locals were alerted on Sunday night that volunteer vaccinators would be arriving in the village the next day.
More than 40 mobile vaccine vans have been deployed to villages all over the island.
‘We survived the tsunami’
The driver of the Lalomanu van, Mene Ropati, picks up New Zealand nurse Donna Horlock, and newly minted Samoan nurse Faamamafa Faamamafa. The pair administer the vaccine.
Also along for the ride is William Pamata, a data-entry volunteer. In normal circumstances, Pamata works at Samoa’s Ministry of Finance.
Police officer Mao Kolio, who has been in the force for 12 years, rounds out the team. Kolio is in charge of crowd control.
In Lalomanu, grandmother So’o Paueli, who owns the So’o Paueli Shop, is behind the counter when the van stops in.
Paueli’s daughter Siana Ponifasio and granddaughter Healani Saufoi, aged 4 months, are at the shop as well.
After talking to the nurses, Paueli agrees to be vaccinated. Her granddaughter is too young, and
her daughter is vaccinated.
Having survived the 2009 tsunami that claimed the life of her sister and seven of her sister’s grandchildren, getting vaccinated to protect her granddaughter is a no-brainer.
‘‘We survived the tsunami; if all we have to do is get a needle to protect the babies, then why not? It’s easier than dealing with a huge wave.’’
Grandparents at risk
It is protection of those who are too young to get the jab that prompts grandparents around the village to get immunised.
At another fale down the road from the shop, 61-year-old Fatefata Taua scrunches his face as the needle pierces his skin.
There are two primary schoolaged children at his home who are already vaccinated. They shudder on their grandfather’s behalf as the
needle hits its mark.
Taua says most parents in Lalomanu have had their kids vaccinated. It’s the grandparents who are in danger here.
Next door to Taua lives Rita Romeo. She herds all the people at her home who haven’t been vaccinated into a line.
The last in the house to be vaccinated is Fono John, aged six months. Romeo hoists her grandson onto her lap, holds him down and gives the nurse the nod.
In two weeks, he will be protected by the vaccine.
Two-week danger zone
Up and down the coastal village the volunteers penetrate every fale. The fight against measles will be successful if no-one with the disease comes to Lalomanu for the allimportant two weeks.
Faamamafa says the team came to Lalomanu with 30 vials – enough to vaccinate 300 people.
Pamata is busy taking names. By midday, his data entry is filled mainly with the names and ages of people aged over 50.
The fight against the airborne disease is running against the clock as the death toll rises.
On Saturday, Red Cross nurse Karen Page told Stuff it would get worse before it gets better. Her educated prediction rings true.
Prior to the epidemic, vaccination rates were low. Many Samoans attribute that to misplaced fears after the death of two toddlers in 2018 as a result of two nurses mixing the vaccine with an expired anaesthetic.
Death toll tops 50
Of the 53 people who have died from the disease, all but one was under the age of 19.
Forty-eight of those deaths are of children aged under four.