Samoa will receive 25,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine from the New Zealand government through the COVAX Facility.

The announcement was made by New Zealand’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Nanaia Mahuta in a statement issued by the New Zealand government on Friday.

New Zealand is donating additional Pfizer vaccines to the Pacific and AstraZeneca vaccines to the COVAX Facility to support equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines.

The COVAX doses have been allocated to Samoa which will receive 25,000 doses which are to be delivered in October.

The Minister of Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio said they are also committed to provide Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines to the Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau to support the vaccination of their 12-15 year-olds from October this year.

“Aotearoa’s deliveries from Pfizer will ramp up over the next few months to provide enough vaccines for everyone in New Zealand to be vaccinated by the end of the year," said Aupito.

"We will also be able to assist our Pacific neighbours using New Zealand’s surplus doses to support their vaccination programmes."

Ms Mahuta said New Zealand is donating 708,000 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to the COVAX Facility to support vaccine programmes in developing countries.

“These vaccines are part of our ongoing commitment to supporting the global effort to combat COVID-19. We know that we all need to play our part – these vaccines will provide a line of defence to countries who most need it,” said the Minister.

According to the New Zealand-issued statement, these doses are in addition to their existing donation of 1.668 million AstraZeneca doses to the COVAX Facility announced earlier in the year.

“COVAX exists to enable global equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, ensuring widespread vaccination around the world. New Zealand is committed to supporting those efforts,” she said.

Aupito added that they are sharing vaccines with nations in the Pacific to help protect the region’s younger population against COVID-19, and that the donations will make a tangible contribution to COVID-19 resilience in the region as many of these countries have large youthful populations.

Ms Mahuta said that they are also working closely with the governments of Tonga, Samoa and Fiji to donate vaccines for their younger population.

“These discussions are well underway,” she said.