Te Marae Ora Ministry of Health (TMO) officials will now travel to Rakahanga to administer Covid-19 vaccines instead of around 80 island residents going to Manihiki for their second and booster jabs.

The decision follows a meeting last week with key stakeholders who put the original idea of Rakahanga residents making boat trips to Manihiki to get vaxxed on hold.

The meeting included Rakahanga Member of Parliament and Opposition leader Tina Browne who pushed for an alternative to the original plan.

Now TMO will fly into Manihiki and then take a boat to Rakahanga with the vaccines.

Browne said TMO were now satisfied that the boat – Vahine Rakahanga – would provide a satisfactory, stable environment for the vaccine to travel.

“The island is alerted to the fact that they will not need to travel and I think everyone all around is happy with the outcome,” Browne said.

“The bottom line is I’m grateful that it’s happening, it’s an outcome that I wished for.”

She said TMO would also conduct Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) training for the people on the island.

Secretary of Health Bob Williams earlier said the reason behind TMO’s original decision was “cold chain management timing for the vaccine”, which means the vaccine would be out of cold storage for too long to make the trip to Rakahanga.

Williams also said transporting the vaccine by sea could affect the sensitivity of the vaccine.

According to the United States Food and Drug Administration, undiluted thawed Pfizer vaccine vials – which are used in the Cook Islands – can be stored in the refrigerator at 2 to 8 degrees Celsius for up to a month. Previously thawed, undiluted vaccines were thought to last for up to five days.

Browne said Air Rarotonga did not have the power to plug in a cooler for the vaccine. She assumed “some sort of chilly bin container” would be used to keep the vaccines cold while being transported.

Police patrol boat Te Kukupa was used to transport the Covid-19 vaccine to Rakahanga for the earlier rollouts.

Browne also said Te Kukupa “rolls whereas the Vahine Rakahanga is more steady, so I think that discussion must have occurred and might have influenced their (TMO’s) view”.

Prime Minister Mark Brown told Cook Islands News last week he was surprised that the Rakahanga population was being asked to travel to Manihiki to get vaccinated.

“So when it was brought to my attention, I said we need to look at the alternatives for vessels to take a smaller team to Rakahanga,” Brown said.