This curve depicts the weekly death rate by division since May 2021. Overall, as of the week of 17/01/2022, the death rate graph indicates an upward trend in the number of COVID-19 deaths in the Central, Western, Eastern, and Northern divisions. Please note there is likely a delay in deaths reported in the last week therefore the appearance of a downward trend on the graph may not be representative of the actual trend.
Analysis of Deaths in the Third Wave
Table 1: Death rates by Division
| Division | Total COVID Deaths | Deaths per 100,000 |
| Central | 40 | 9.9 |
| Western | 31 | 8.7 |
| Northern | 24 | 17.7 |
| Eastern | 3 | 7.8 |
An analysis of the first 98 deaths recorded in the third wave show that, while the Central Division has the highest absolute number of deaths, the Northern Division has the highest rate of death when adjusted for population.(Note: There are deaths currently being investigated from the Western Division for the same time period, therefore the rate for that division may increase).
Table 2: Deaths by Age Group
| Age Group | Total Deaths | Deaths per 100,000 population |
| 0 – 9 | 3 | 1.7 |
| 10-19 | 2 | 1.3 |
| 20-29 | 3 | 2.1 |
| 30-39 | 2 | 1.5 |
| 40-49 | 3 | 2.9 |
| 50-59 | 16 | 17.7 |
| 60-69 | 19 | 36.6 |
| 70-79 | 29 | 129.5 |
| 80-89 | 18 | 319.9 |
| 90-99 | 3 | 576.9 |
For the first 98 deaths in the third wave, the rates of death when adjusted for population, have been highest in the age groups 50 and upwards. The 5 deaths from the under 19 age group were in children with significant underlying medical conditions.
Table 3: Deaths by Vaccination Status
| Age Cohort | Total COVID deaths | Total Vaccinated/Unvaccinated | Deaths per 100,000 Vaccinated Population | Deaths per 100,000 Unvaccinated Population |
| >18 | 93 | 41/52 | 7.1 | 115 |
| 15-17 | 1 | 0/1 | 0 | 6.6 |
| 12-14 | 1 | 0/1 | 0 | 2.5 |
Out of 98 COVID -19 deaths reported in the third wave, three deaths were in the population not eligible for vaccination (under age 12). An analysis was done for the 95 deaths in the vaccine-eligible population.. When adjusted for population in the fully vaccinated (received 2 doses) and unvaccinated/not fully vaccinated (received 0 doses or only 1 dose) adults in Fiji, we can see that death rates per 100,000 population are 7.1 deaths per 100,000 for fully vaccinated adults and 115 deaths per 100,000 for unvaccinated adults. This means that unvaccinated adults in Fiji have been dying from COVID-19 at a rate 16.2 times higher than fully vaccinated adults during this current wave. Individuals in the 12-17 age group who died were not vaccinated. There have been no deaths in individuals who received a booster (3rd dose) of the vaccine.
New deaths to report
There are 7 new COVID-19 deaths to report from the period 22nd January 2022 to 26th January 2022.
One death was from the Central Division, two from the Western and four from the Northern. Two were fully vaccinated, the remaining five were unvaccinated. Medical records reflected that, out of the seven, one individual had a significant congenital medical condition, while six had significant pre-existing comorbidities, which contributed to the severity of their illness and demise.
The first COVID -19 death to report is of a 64-year-old male from the Northern Division, who died on arrival at Labasa Hospital on 22/01/2022. He had pre-existing medical conditions and was not vaccinated.
The second COVID-19 death to report is of a 71-year-old male from the Western Division, who died at home on 24/01/2022. He had pre-existing medical conditions and was fully vaccinated.
The third COVID-19 death to report is of an 86-year-old female from the Northern Division, who was admitted at Labasa Hospital on 23/01/2022 and died 2 days later in hospital on 25/01/2022. She was not vaccinated.
The fourth COVID-19 death to report is of an 83-year-old female from the Western Division, who died at home on 25/01/2022. She was not vaccinated.
The fifth COVID-19 death to report is of a 31-year-old male from the Northern Division, who died at home on 26/01/2022. He had a significant congenital medical condition that likely contributed to his death. He was fully vaccinated.
The sixth COVID-19 death to report is of a 75-year-old male from the Central Division, who died at home. He was not vaccinated.
The seventh COVID-19 death to report is of an 83-year-old female of the Northern Division, who was admitted at Labasa Hospital on 23/01/2022. She had pre-existing medical conditions which contributed to the severity of her illness. She died 2 days later in hospital on 25/01/2022. She was not vaccinated.
There has been a total of 798 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji. Please note that due to the time required by clinical teams to investigate, classify and report deaths, a 4-day interval is given to calculate the 7 days rolling average of deaths, based on the date of death, to help ensure the data collected is complete before the average is reported. Therefore, as of January 20th, 2022, the national 7 days rolling average for COVID-19 deaths per day is 3.0, with a case fatality rate of 1.32%.
We have recorded 785 COVID-19 positive patients who died from other serious medical conditions unrelated to COVID-19; their doctors determined that COVID-19 did not contribute to their deaths, therefore these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.