Male’, Maldives – Indian sources have reported that the Indian made Covid-19 vaccine, ‘Covishield’ will be brought to the Maldives tomorrow – making the country the first to receive the jab.
Indian news outlet ‘Indian Express’ quoted a government official of India stating that, “Everything is in place including regulatory approvals and permissions on Maldivian side,”
The source was further reported to say that the vaccine is being sent in numbers enough to cover frontline health workers and senior citizens.
As per the reports, the consignment will arrive at Velana International Airport via an Air India flight, estimated to land at 14:00 of Wednesday.
“It reaffirms India’s reputation as first responder in any emergency situation,” the source was quoted.
With this, Maldives will become the largest Covid-19 assistance recipient in India’s neighbourhood including medicine supply, food supply, medical team, training and financial assistance of $250 million.
However, an official comment from Maldivian authorities is yet to be made regarding the news.
Currently, Maldives is working on registering those who want to get vaccinated against the novel coronavirus, for which a dedicated online portal, my.health.mv has been launched.
As of now, Maldives has recorded a total of 14,582 cases of Covid-19, out of which, 13,566 patients have recovered. 49 patients have unfortunately succumbed to the virus thus far.
