Denmark's military is delivering COVID-19 vaccines to isolated settlements in Greenland, where extreme Arctic weather conditions have complicated the jab's roll-out in remote communities.

A naval patrol ship, equipped with a specialised refrigerator to store the doses, was sent out to visit two secluded settlements the autonomous Danish territory in mid-February at the request of Greenland's health authorities.

The 56,000 inhabitants of the world's largest island are spread across two million square kilometers. Its limited road infrastructure and the Arctic conditions are making many areas difficult to access. 

READ MORE:

Finding the courage to fight the mafia

Cambridge dreams turn to nightmares

Switzerland vote on face-covering ban

"Remote locations are difficult to access because of sea ice, because of adverse weather conditions and because of the lack of airports and seaports," said Joint Arctic Command chief Dan Termansen. 

"That's why we offer our specialized assets in order to access these remote areas."

Greenland's authorities have barred entry to the vast territory until April 18, despite reporting just 31 cases of the virus and no deaths since the start of the pandemic.

Vaccinations got underway on January 4, with officials asking the Danish military's Joint Arctic command in the capital Nuuk to assist them in getting the jabs to places made unreachable by the weather.

So far, six percent of Greenland's population has been vaccinated, according to the head of Greenland's health authority.

Military footage showed the Knud Rasmussen, a 61-meter-long naval patrol ship, breaking through chunks of sea ice by night.

After leaving Nuuk for the southwestern coast, the boat and its health experts went to the tiny settlement of Paamiut, setting up a small nursing home to give the Pfizer vaccine to some 233 people, mostly aged 65 and over.

Afterwards, the Danish medical team sailed to the settlement of Qeqertarsuatsiaat, inoculating 90 of its 170-strong population. 

The first stage of the mission went well, according to Chief Termansen, who added that the crew's experience would be used to plan upcoming deliveries to all of the other remote communities in need of the jab.

"The findings and experience gained from this mission we will adapt for further missions to the north," he said. "That will be a somewhat different mission because of sea ice and also adverse weather conditions."

Video editing: Steve Chappell