Male’, Maldives – The Health Protection Agency (HPA) of Maldives has announced that vaccination of the elderly who are above the age of 70, against the Covid-19 virus has begun in the Male’ region today, 3 February 2021.
According to an announcement by the Agency, of those who have registered to get the vaccine, individuals above the age of 70 will be notified of the time and place to attend to receive the jab. The vaccination centers announced are ADK Hospital, Social Center, VilliMale’ Hospital and Senehiya.
Those who are going to receive the vaccine were instructed to bring in an official identification document, such as their national ID cards, as well as look out for the following;
- Ensure that there are no signs or symptoms of the virus in the person going to get vaccinated
- Ensure that the individual is not quarantined
- Wear a loose outfit which provides easy access to vaccination site (upper arm area)
- Eat well prior to getting vaccinated
- Carry a water bottle when going for the shot
- Ensure that the recipient is not accompanied by more than one bystander
In the announcement, HPA also urged everyone to register with the portal, my.health.mv as soon as possible, in order to receive the vaccine. Any assistance required during registering would be made available by the toll free hotline, 1676.
Currently the vaccine being administered in the Maldives is the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, which is mass produced by Serum Institute of India, and marketed as the Covishield vaccine. The vaccine has been approved for use in the Maldives by Maldives Food and Drug Authority (MFDA), while the AstraZeneca vaccine has also been approved in at least 44 different countries, and by medical regulating bodies such as the European Medicine Agency (EMA)
Maldives has entered a third curve, the latest Covid-19 statistics for the country reporting that, a total of 16,155 individuals have been infected with the virus, out of which 14,263 have made full recoveries, while 52 have unfortunately passed away.
