Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — With the safe arrival of the Pfizer vaccine over the weekend, patients and escorts approved for the medical charter next month, overseen by the American Samoa Medicaid State Agency — the Medicaid Office, were given the vaccine yesterday inside the “Quarantine Tent” at the LBJ Medical Center compound.

Because there is a second dose to be administered to those who took the first dose, the charter flight, initially set for Jan. 8th has been push back to Jan. 12th.

Information provided to Samoa News yesterday morning states 147 patients and escorts have been approved for the medical charter. And the vaccination is voluntary.

The Medicaid Office announced in a statement last Friday afternoon, that after several hours of conference calls and meetings, the LBJ, DoH, Medicaid Office, and the Governor’s Office determined that it’s feasible for patients and escorts to receive the COVID-19 Pfizer vaccine to offer protection to referral patients and local residents traveling off-island on the Medical charter and returning home at a later time.

“The intent is to provide our residents with protection from the COVID virus while they seek medical treatment in the U.S. and [are] planning to return [later],” it says. “While on island, our referral patients and escorts will have immediate access to the vaccine. But once they are off-island, there is no guarantee that they will have access to the vaccine as they are not residents in the U.S.”

DoH, LBJ and the Medicaid office issued a public service announcement Saturday night that the vaccine had arrived safety and first dose was administered yesterday at LBJ while the second dose will be administered starting Jan. 6th.

Pushing the charter to Jan. 12th is to allow medical professionals to monitor the after-effects of the vaccine on recipients to allow them to travel safely with confidence, according to the Medicaid office.

Just before 8a.m yesterday, about 10-patients were already at the LBJ lobby, checking with the Medicaid staff, stationed there for the vaccinations. Patients were given forms to fill out and then directed to the “Quarantine Tent” to await their turn to receive the vaccination. DoH personnel were also at the LBJ compound.

The first-patient to receive the vaccine declined to be interviewed for this Samoa News story, and two others who were asked later in the day, also declined an interview.

For more information on the medical charter and registration of non-patient passengers, contact 699-4777.