COVID-19 Vaccination Resistance in the AROB

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On Sunday, 7/11/2021, a 14-day lockdown came into effect in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville (AROB) by order of the Secretary for Health/Regional Pandemic Controller, Dr Clement Totavun. This order, dated 4/11/2021, followed release of the official COVID-19 case numbers (70) and deaths (9) from COVID-19 for Bougainville.

This lockdown is designed to physically limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus while allowing life-saving vaccines to be administered to the public. A vaccination programme to protect people against infection from the COVID-19 virus is currently in progress, starting in the north of the AROB and progressing to the central and southern regions. 

This vaccination programme offers the chance to protect communities from serious illness and death caused by the COVID-19 virus while the number of cases and deaths are relatively small. Older Bougainvilleans should be prioritised in the vaccination programme because many of them have compromised respiratory systems resulting from years of smoking black tobacco and/or locally grown leaf tobacco (“brus” in Tok Pisin). Many of them rely on regular treatment with bronchial dilation medication such as Salbutemol, supplies of which have shrunk due to years of gross mismanagement of the medical supplies section of the Papua New Guinea (PNG) National Department of Health.

Unfortunately, older Bougainvillean villagers are being discouraged from receiving potentially life-saving vaccine injections by younger people who receive misinformation about COVID-19 via Facebook on their smartphones. Recent unfounded rumours circulating in Buka about COVID-19 include stories about COVID-19 vaccinations causing unspecified “side-effects” and COVID-19 tests resulting in people being tested becoming COVID-19 positive. The most recent of these rumours falsely holds that the nine people officially recorded as dying from COVID-19 infection in Bougainville in fact died as a result of being vaccinated. This type of misinformation will undoubtedly deter many Bougainvilleans from coming forward for vaccination. 

The 14-day lockdown that commenced on 7/11/2021 provides a unique window of opportunity for Bougainvilleans to be vaccinated against COVID-19 while those people infected with the virus are less able to move within and between communities, spreading the infection. Unless Bougainville health authorities are able to counter the misinformation being spread by Facebook users, this invaluable opportunity will be lost, and COVID-19 case numbers and resulting deaths will spiral out of control.