Samoa remains in the grip of a measles epidemic with eight suspected measles deaths - the latest just yesterday, amidst more than 700 cases.
Panicked parents are flooding to special immunisation centres around the country, one of them in central Apia giving 1000 vaccines in just one day.
Only children under the age of 10 are receiving the vaccine and New Zealand and UNICEF have been asked to provide more.
Samoa’s Director General of Health Leausa Take Naseri says the crisis is partly his ministry’s fault with coverage rates being at a low 41 per cent and it’s taken a crisis to change that.
He says his staff are working around the clock to keep the epidemic from worsening but it’s far from over.
Cabinet has held an emergency meeting and ruled that no child will be able to start his or her schooling next year without being fully immunised.
All primary schools will shut on Friday and high schools by the end of the month once exams are over to prevent further spread.
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