300,671 persons across the Maldives has received both shots of the Covid-19 vaccination, by Wednesday’s end.
According to the latest figures publicized by the Health Protection Agency (HPA), 1,244 persons were inoculated nationwide on Wednesday, of which 338 were residents of the Greater Malé Region and 906 were persons residing in outlying atolls.
The 1,000 first doses administered on Wednesday were given to 174 Greater Malé residents and 826 atoll residents.
Further, 164 persons residing in Malé and 80 residents across atolls received second shots totaling 244.
There are currently three mobile teams across six vaccination centers and 176 centers spanning outlying atolls.
More residents across the Maldives have begun attending vaccination centers for their first jabs as authorities have set a deadline for the administration of first doses of AstraZeneca vaccine Maldives has received and is currently administering, on September 1, as the supply will expire in November.
The government's aim is to vaccinate 95 percent of those eligible through the free vaccination drive, by the end of August. Hence, there will be restrictions for unvaccinated persons from September 1.
HPA is currently in the final stages of the vaccination drive, launched by the incumbent administration of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on February 1.
HPA has also publicized a list of restrictions that unvaccinated persons will be facing, including a ban on domestic travel and disallowing tourists to check in to guesthouses if they are unvaccinated. Further, civil servants who have not been vaccinated yet will also be required to present negative PCR test results every 14 days from September 1.
While authorities recently launched a vaccination drive for children aged 12 to 17, 30,109 have been given the first shot of the approved Pfizer vaccine for the age group by Thursday. This campaign is being conducted together with the education ministry, with awareness programmes held for parents as their consent is required for child's vaccination.
