Male’, Maldives — Health Emergency Operation Center (HEOC) has informed that the Maldives is expecting to receive a Covid-19 vaccine that can be administered to children below the age of 18 by the end of this year.
While speaking at the HEOC press conference that was held last night, member of HEOC’s Technical Advisory Group (TAG) Dr. Nazla Musthafa informed that while the Covid-19 vaccine currently available in Maldives cannot be administered to children below the age of 18, they are expecting to receive a Covid-19 vaccine administrable for the children by the end of 2020.
As the children blow the age of 18 and pregnant women cannot be administered with the Covisheild vaccine, Dr. Nazla informed that it is very important to protect the vulnerable against the contagious virus.
At the press conference, Dr. Nazla noted that they have noticed the citizens being careless in adhering to the guidelines due to vaccination and instructed everyone to avoid being careless about the rules. She reminded that majority of the population have not been administered with the first dose of vaccine yet and that it is important to adhere to the protective measures to avoid getting infected.
She informed that after two weeks of administering the first vaccination dose, it will reduce the probability of getting infected by 60% and that after two weeks of administering the second dose, it will reduce the probability of getting infected by 70%. However, she noted that administering the vaccine will 100% protect the individual from being severely sick.
The latest statistics revealed by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) states that till date, a total of 56,218 have been administered with the Covisheild vaccine in Maldives. While priority is given to elderly people and frontliners in administering the vaccine, the country is also currently vaccinating people above the age of 18.
