Gov't to kickstart last Covid-19 vaccination campaign, or "final push" on Saturday

The government is to kickstart the last Covid-19 vaccination campaign across Maldives populous capital Malé City on Saturday.

This was revealed by Spokesperson of the Health Emergency Operations Center (HEOC), Dr. Nazla Rafeeq during a press briefing on Wednesday afternoon.

Detailing the public regarding the Covid-19 inoculation drive, Dr. Nazla noted that Maldives has received the first shipment of Singapore’s AstraZeneca vaccine dosages and assured that the country has acquired sufficient doses to vaccinate those acquiring second doses as well.

The spokesperson noted that the best thing to do to control and curb the spread of coronavirus across Maldives is to ensure the vaccination programme is a success, by inoculating a majority of the population against the fatal infection.

Nazla stated that the “final push” to vaccinate the majority of Maldives population, will begin as the last inoculation campaign across Maldives capital, on July 31.

Also joining the presser, Nashiya Abdul Ghafoor from the Health Protection Agency (HPA)’s Immunization Program revealed that vaccination had resumed across outlying atolls on Tuesday, confirming that the campaign will kickstart across the capital city on Saturday, across six centers.

Stating that the “biggest weapon” against Covid-19 is vaccination, Nazla reiterated that the government aims to fully vaccinate 90 percent of the eligible population of Maldives by August.

With this, the spokesperson noted that the difficulties faced in travel as well as the challenges to the education sector will also be resolved once a majority of the country’s population is vaccinated.

HEOC further revealed that 27 percent of Maldives eligible population is yet to receive a single dose of the vaccination, urging the public to help authorities reach their goal of vaccinating these individuals through the upcoming month.

She urged the people to treat vaccination as a “national” responsibility and extend full cooperation and support to the healthcare workers.

Further, Nazla stressed that although the government has forwarded comments regarding the procurement of the Sputnik V Vaccine sourced from Russia, there has been no further progress in the matter and that an agreement is yet to be signed.

Maldives Food and Drug Authority (MFDA) authorized the emergency use of Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccination to be used in the Maldives in May.