Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The government’s COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Task Force co-chairmen, LBJ Medical Center Chief Executive Officer, Faumuina John Faumuina and Health director Motusa Tuileama Nua were accompanied by medical personnel from the task force during a news conference yesterday to communicate to the community local preparations and plans to receive and distribute the COVID-19 vaccines.

It was announced that the first shipment of just less than 3,000 doses — based on information from the US last week — is expected to arrive this Saturday on the weekly cargo flight with plans to begin vaccinations within 72-hours based on the priority of who gets the vaccine first.

According ASG officials at the news conference, “Subtier A” — the priority group to get vaccinated — are health care workers providing direct patient care — such as DoH, LBJ, Emergency Medical Service, Hope House, Hope House and StarKist Samoa nurses.

The other category in Subtier A for priority vaccination: first responders as well as repatriation personnel at the airport and seaport.

Last Friday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued the first emergency use authorization (EUA) for a vaccine for the COVID-19. The federal agency said that the EUA  allows Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine to be distributed in the U.S.

According to FDA, the most commonly reported side effects, of the vaccine, which typically lasted several days, were pain at the injection site, tiredness, headache, muscle pain, chills, joint pain, and fever.

“Of note, more people experienced these side effects after the second dose than after the first dose, so it is important for vaccination providers and recipients to expect that there may be some side effects after either dose, but even more so after the second dose,” said FDA (www.fda.gov) in a brief summary of information about the vaccine.

Side-effects, were among the several issues that were covered at yesterday’s local news conference held at one of the LBJ buildings in Fagaalu.

See Samoa News edition tomorrow, for more details.