Malé, Maldives – The first shipment of Sinopharm Covid-19 Vaccine donated to Maldives by China has arrive in Malé.
In a ceremony held at the Foreign Ministry, Chinese Ambassador to Maldives Zhang Lizhong presented the vaccine to Health Minister Ahmed Naseem.
Foreign Minister Shahid states that the first batch of 100,000 doses were transported to Maldives by the national carrier Maldivian. Minister Shahid thanked China for continued assistance during the pandemic.
We are grateful to President Xi Jinping and the friendly people of China for this generous contribution to our ongoing vaccination efforts. While the 1st batch of the vaccines arrived late last night, the 2nd batch of the vaccines is scheduled to be received by 30th of this month.
Foreign Minister Shahid
The Minister also added that the authorities are trying to bring the required Covid-19 vaccines to the Maldives within the shortest amount of time.
Sinopharm Covid-19 Vaccine was approved for emergency use in the Maldives on 14 March 2021, and Health Protection Services (HPA) started administering the jab on 22 March. The Sinopharm Covid-19 Vaccine requires two doses administered one month apart.
Minister Shahid details that the first shipment of 100,000 doses are to be used for vaccination as the first dose and the second shipment of 100,000 will be used for the same people as the second dose.
The Maldives Foreign Minister thanked Chinese companies based in Maldives for the financial assistance to charter flights to transport the vaccines to the Maldives.
