Some Pacific countries will take years to vaccinate 50% of adult population, modelling shows

Predictions from Lowy Institute indicate Papua New Guinea will take five years to vaccinate just a third of its population

• See all our coronavirus coverage

Some Pacific countries will have less than a quarter of adults vaccinated by the end of the year, with predictions that Papua New Guinea will take five years to vaccinate just one-third of its population, undermining economic recovery and threatening huge loss of life across the region.

The predictions come from modelling released on Sunday by the Lowy Institute, which takes into account factors including access to vaccines, numbers of healthcare workers, urbanisation, topography and vaccine hesitancy to estimate when Pacific countries will hit key vaccine milestones.