Male’, Maldives – First shipment of the Covid-19 vaccine, AstraZeneca given by the Indian government arrives in Maldives.
The shipment arrived at Velana International Airport on Wednesday afternoon, carrying 100,000 doses of the Covishield vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute of India and licensed by Oxford-AstraZeneca.
With this, Maldives became the first country to receive the vaccine, while several other neighboring countries are also in line to receive the immunization some time today, according to international reports.
The vaccine shipment was received by the Maldives Minister of Health Ahmed Naseem and Foreign Minister Abdullah Shahid. The brief ceremony during which the hand over was made, was also attended by the the Indian High Commissioner to the Maldives, Sanjay Sudhir.
The Covishield, which is manufactured by AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, in collaboration with the Oxford University of the United Kingdom, unlike many other Covid-19 vaccines, does not require extreme cold temperatures for it to be stored, which makes the jab ideal for a tropical island nation like the Maldives.
As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to claim lives across the globe, the production and approval of multiple vaccines against the Covid-19 virus continues to rekindle hope among many, especially those who fall under the high risk category of Covid-19.
