856 vaccination doses were administered under the government’s “Covid-19 Dhifaau” inoculation drive, on Monday.
Latest figures publicized by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) reveal that 483 Greater Malé residents received vaccine doses from three mobile teams across six vaccination centers on Monday, whereas 373 atoll residents received doses from 176 vaccination centers spanning outlying atolls.
Monday’s vaccine doses included 531 first doses, administered to 274 Greater Malé residents and 257 atoll residents, and 325 second doses, given to 209 Greater Malé residents and 116 persons residing in outlying atolls.
This means that by Monday’s end, 302,182 persons nationwide have completed both doses of vaccination whereas 383,620 persons have received a first dose.
With these developments, 81,438 persons are currently awaiting their second doses.
The incumbent administration of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih launched the “Covid-19 Dhifaau” inoculation drive on February 1 of which HPA is currently in the final stages.
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 country last week received 111,000 additional doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, donated by Japan.
The government's aim is to vaccinate 95 percent of those eligible through the free vaccination drive, by the beginning of September. Hence, there will be restrictions for unvaccinated persons from September 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 were 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 children's vaccination.
