The small remote Ascension Island in the South Atlantic Ocean could become “the first island to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19,” the British military said Friday.
The island – a British overseas territory – has just over 800 inhabitants.
At least 1,950 doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine arrived at Ascension earlier this week on a special Royal Air Force support flight.
Staff at Georgetown Hospital on the island have begun to administer the vaccine, and the first to vaccinate were hospital worker Sylvia Isaac and her husband Mervyn.
In a statement, Ms. Isaac said, “I feel very privileged to receive this vaccine,” and that the “vaccination itself was quick and painless”.
“This vaccine will hopefully protect us from the worst effects of COVID-19, as well as help protect family, friends and the rest of the community,” she said.
Given the population the Ascension Island government expects, “those first doses will be administered to everyone offered them by the end of next week.”
Ascension Gov. Philip Rushbrook said, “I am delighted to be at Ascension right now to see firsthand the arrival and distribution of the vaccines.”
“I would like to personally thank everyone who was involved in this.” And said the delivery of the vaccines, “is the culmination of a lot of hard work between various UK government departments, the RAF and within the Ascension Island government.”
Royal Air Force Flying Officer George Cox, Officer Commanding Cargo said, “Places like Ascension Island are notoriously difficult to get to.”
The vaccines arrived in an A400M Atlas cargo plane because “the RAF may depart to remote locations that commercial aircraft do not necessarily have access to,” said Flying Officer Cox.
Where is the ascension? A 33 square mile volcanic island, Ascension is located about 1000 miles off the coast of Africa and 1400 miles from Brazil. Their closest neighbors are on the island of St. Helena, 700 miles to the north.
Part of the overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha in the UK, Ascension Island has its own constitution, is self-governing and makes its own laws.