A total of 258,525 people were fully vaccinated by the time the Covid-19 vaccination programme came to a halt for the long holiday break.

While the vaccination centres have been temporarily closed for the holiday from this Sunday, a total of 258,525 people were fully vaccinated against Covid-19 by then while 320,776 received a first dose.

This means that 62,251 people are awaiting their second jabs.

While the vaccination programme has been halted for the holiday period, they have yet to announce a date on when the service will resume.

The government launched its Covid-19 vaccination drive on February 1 this year, after receiving 100,000 doses of the Covishield vaccine from India. However, as the coronavirus situation in the neighboring nation worsened dramatically, it was later unable to provide a scheduled shipment.

Hence, while the demand was high at the start of the drive, there was a shortage by the time people required their second jabs. While authorities resumed Covishield administration this month, this led to an increase in individuals getting their second shots.

In addition to Covishield, Maldives is giving Sinopharm and Pfizer vaccine shots with the latter being administered under special circumstances.

The Health Emergency Operations Centre (HEOC) last week revealed that 50 percent of the country's adult population is now fully vaccinated against Covid-19.