82,188‬ persons awaiting second doses of Covid-19 vaccine by Saturday's end

There are 82,188 persons awaiting second doses of the vaccination against Covid-19, currently.

According to the latest figures publicized by the Health Protection Agency (HPA), a total of 483 persons received the Covid-19 vaccination nationwide on Saturday. 256 Greater Malé residents and 227 atoll residents were inoculated.

Saturday’s vaccinations included 301 first doses, administered to 133 Greater Malé residents and 168 atoll residents, as well as 182 second doses which were administered to 123 Greater Malé residents and 59 atoll residents.

Under the government’s “Covid-19 Dhifaau” inoculation drive, a total of 303,667 persons have completed both doses of vaccination against coronavirus, with 385,855 persons having received a first dose.

There are currently three mobile teams across six vaccination centers in the capital region, as well as 176 vaccination centers spanning outlying atolls.

The incumbent administration of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih launched the “Covid-19 Dhifaau” inoculation drive on February 1.

More residents across the Maldives had begun attending vaccination centers for their first jabs as authorities 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.

HPA announced restrictions for unvaccinated persons from September 1 earlier, however, on Wednesday it was revealed that the implementation of the restrictions will be delayed, as the government is currently working on launching an adequate application through which unvaccinated persons may be tracked and monitored.

Although the government earlier targeted to vaccinate 95 percent of those eligible through the free vaccination drive, by the beginning of September, authorities have revealed that they are not far from reaching the goal, with 85 percent of the eligible population aged 18 and above having received first doses and 84 percent of the eligible population above 12 years having received doses as well.

Restrictions that unvaccinated persons will be facing include 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.

Authorities only recently launched a vaccination drive for children aged 12 to 17. 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.