Seychelles, Aiming High on Vaccination

Seychelles is one of the Eastern Africa Standby Force Member States. Like the other EASF Member States, Seychelles has not been spared from the current health pandemic, confirmation of community transmission in the country came three months ago.

Above: President Ramkalawan taking Covid-19 vaccine. Courtesy: State House.

Since then the country has been recording regular increase in the number of positive cases of COVID-19. The country is doing every effort to prevent and reduce the number of cases and to vaccinate the population. The newly elected President, His Excellency, Father Wavel Ramkalawan confirmed in a recent press conference that the country will do whatever it takes to protect its population from the pandemic.

Seychelles is one of the top five countries in the world where most of the population is being vaccinated and through this it is expected that the country soon reach a high level of herd immunity. Herd immunity is when enough people have immunity, either from vaccination or past infection, to prevent the uncontrolled spread of the Covid-19 virus.

According to President Ramkalawan, by middle of March this year, approximately 70% of the population will be vaccinated. Other EASF Member States have also started Covid-19 immunisation programmes with priorities being given to healthcare workers and other categories of the workforce considered high risk as recommended by the WHO guidelines.
 
The Islands of Seychelles is a dream destination for many and undoubtedly tourism is the main pillar of the country’s economy.  According to the Seychelles Tourism Board, there are additional safety protocols for travelers to follow leading up to and during their stay. This includes making accommodation and tour bookings with only licensed and certified establishments and service providers, and also having valid travel insurance with full medical coverage and even additional PCR tests being done upon arrival including rapid tests.
 
The Seychelles is an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean with a highly equipped maritime sector and Seychelles has been actively engaged with the EASF especially in maritime domain awareness. Seychelles is also home to numerous beaches, nature reserves, huge coral reefs and the only place on earth where you can find the biggest nut called ‘coco de mer’.