After South Africa, could Papua New Guinea detect a new variant of Covid-19?
In any case, this is what epidemiologists fear, due to the strong epidemic wave currently hitting the country, and the very low vaccination rate of its population.
However, due to its geographical position - Papua New Guinea is located only four km from its Australian neighbor - experts fear that Australia could also quickly be affected by the same problem.
Read also Covid-19: is the appearance of variants linked to insufficient vaccination in poor countries?
"I fear Papua New Guinea will be the next place where a new variant emerges,"
warned Adrian Prouse, head of international humanitarian programs at the Australian Red Cross, interviewed by
The Guardian
.
Stefanie Vaccher, epidemiologist at the Burnet Institute, reminds the
Guardian
that less than 4% of the island's population is vaccinated:
“The virus is more likely to spread and mutate in populations that have low rates of disease. vaccination coverage ”.
35% of the population vaccinated in August 2026
The scientist wished to alert the Australian government to the situation in Papua New Guinea, ravaged by the pandemic.
“With such a low vaccination coverage rate, there are many opportunities for the virus to mutate and spread. Countries have a responsibility to think globally because the pandemic has revealed how interconnected we are ”.
The country, which occupies the eastern half of the island of New Guinea, officially has 573 dead and 35,000 cases of coronavirus detected in a country of nearly nine million people.
Data which is however disputed by those from 700 hospitals and clinics in the country, showing that 2.6 million people, a quarter of the population therefore, presented symptoms similar to those of Covid between March and September 2021.
Read also Covid-19: Papua New Guinea confines its capital after a first death
Even more worrying, the country's immunization coverage is one of the lowest in the world, with only 3% of the population having received a dose of the vaccine on December 13, and 2.2% are fully immunized.
A study by the Australian Lowy Institute, published on Sunday, November 21, also predicts that only 35% of the population will be vaccinated in August 2026. This will fuel the strong concerns of experts about the emergence of new variants in the country .