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Every citizen to be given COVID-19 vaccine: State Minister for Health Dr Shah

Ahmed Aiham
03 December 2020, MVT 15:32
(FILES) In this file photo the Moderna headquarters is seen in Cambridge, Massachusetts on May 18, 2020. PHOTO: JOSEPH PREZIOSO / AFP
Ahmed Aiham
03 December 2020, MVT 15:32

Ministry of Health, on Wednesday, noted that every citizen of Maldives would receive a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

According to State Minister of Health Dr Shah Abdulla Mahir, foreign aid will cover up to 20 percent of the vaccines. However, efforts are underway to secure vaccines for the remaining 80 percent of the population.

"God willing, we will get the vaccine as soon as it is released to the world". said the State Minister.

He further noted that Maldives aims to acquire both the Moderna COVID-10 vaccine and the Oxford-Astrazaneca vaccine for distribution within the country, adding that Maldives is preparing to receive the vaccine within the next two months.

The 20 percent of the vaccine allocation will be facilitated by the COVAX Facility - a global initiative co-led by Gavi, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Dr Shah also revealed that 3 percent of the vaccines will be distributed to the elderly and those that are at high risk of succumbing to the virus.

Maldives currently records a total of 13,070 virus cases of which 1,015 are active cases, in addition to 12,001 recoveries and 47 deaths.

On March 12, WHO classified the spread of COVID-19 as a global pandemic. To date, the new strain of novel coronavirus has infected over 64.9 million people and claimed over 1.5 million lives around the world. However, out of those infected, more than 44.9 million people have recovered.

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