Palau – A tiny Pacific nation nears 100% vaccination
Palau, the tiny Pacific nation, has the world’s highest percentage of people vaccinated against Covid-19, with more than 99% of the eligible population fully protected, the Red Cross said.
In a population of about 18,000, almost 15,000 people have been fully vaccinated, according to the country’s ministry of health and human services.
Palau was one of the few countries to avoid COVID-19 after closing its borders early in the pandemic, despite the huge cost to its tourism-reliant economy.
The other Pacific countries are also leading in vaccination rates on a per capita basis. The Cook Islands with a population of 17,000 has 96% of its eligible population fully vaccinated and Fiji, which has 896,000 people, has given one dose to 96% of its eligible population.
