The Seychelles is the most vaccinated nation on Earth. But Covid has surged

The Seychelles is causing concern for world health experts after a rise of Covid-19 cases among fully vaccinated individuals. The World Health Organization said Tuesday that it would review coronavirus data from the Seychelles, an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, after the health ministry said more than a third of people who tested positive for Covid-19 in the week to May 8 had been fully vaccinated.

The Seychelles is viewed as having conducted a very successful vaccination rollout so far; it can boast having the highest share of people vaccinated against Covid-19 anywhere in the world, above Israel and the U.K. The majority of vaccinated people have received China’s Sinopharm vaccine (approved for emergency use by the WHO last Friday) as well as the AstraZeneca shot (known as Covishield locally, a version produced in India). In total, the Seychelles with a population of over 97,000 has recorded just under 8,200 cases and 28 deaths during the pandemic.

On Monday, the Seychelles’ health ministry reported a steep rise in the number of cases. From 120 new cases reported on April 30, a week later over 300 cases per day were recorded on May 7 and May 8, respectively. Of all the positive cases, the health ministry said 63% had either not been vaccinated or had only received one dose of SinoPharm or Covishield, but 37% of the new infections were in people who had received both doses.

The Seychelles is the most vaccinated nation on Earth. But Covid has surged, CNBC, May 13