Malé, Maldives – Health Emergency Operations Center (HEOC) said that although efforts are being made to procure more Covid-19 vaccine for Maldives, a certain date for when the vaccine will be received is not yet known.
The vaccinations programme started in Maldives last February, with the assurance that there are enough doses of vaccine to administer both doses of the vaccine for majority of the population. However, the administration of Covishield vaccine was stopped a week ago due to difficulties in procuring the vaccine leaving a significant portion of the eligible population vaccinated with just one dose.
Maldives made payments to by 300,000 doses of vaccine from Serum Institute of India due to delays in receiving the Astrezeneka vaccine. 100,000 of the have now been received while a certain date for when the remaining 200,000 doses will be received is not yet known.
While the vaccination programme in Maldives initially started with the vaccine doses donated by other counties. Maldives later signed an agreement to buy 700,000 doses of Astrezeneka vaccine from Singapore. This vaccine is yet to be received with the estimated arrival date set in June 2021.
Spokesperson of the President’s Office Mabrook Azeez said that Maldives is not receiving enough vaccine due to difficulties in arranging the required stock. He noted that Indian manufactured Covishield vaccine has not yet been received due to difficulties im exporting due to the deteriorating Covid-19 situation in the country.
In addition to this, Mabrook said that AstraZeneca vaccine from Singapore is expected to be received by next month. He notes that efforts are underway to procure more vaccine after discussions with other countries. He said that procurement of vaccines os highly prioritized by the President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.
