The Health Emergency Operations Center (HEOC) has announced that beginning Wednesday, vaccination efforts against the Covid-19 infection will commence in all hospitals in the Maldives.

Speaking at a press briefing on Tuesday, member of the HEOC Technical Advisory Group on Immunization Dr. Ahmed Faisal said that vaccines would be administered in all hospitals across the country.

The Maldives' national Covid-19 vaccination programme was initiated by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on Monday. Vaccination efforts commenced simultaneously in the cities of Male' Addu and Kulhudhuffushi as top-leaders of government also received their first doses of the vaccine on live TV.

Speaking to inaugurate the Covid-19 vaccination campaign, President Solih acknowledged the many difficulties Maldivians had endured over the past year, and expressed hopes that all would do their civic duty in overcoming this pandemic by receiving the vaccine if they could.

President Solih, who received his first dose of the vaccine on Monday, reaffirmed that the government's plan was to provide free Covid-19 vaccines to all those living in the Maldives free of cost, and expressed hopes that all those living in Maldives would soon be immunized against Covid-19 within six months.

On Tuesday, the HEOC announced that the Maldives had received 5,000 doses of the Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine as manufactured by China on behalf of a well-meaning benefactor.

The vaccination programme initiated in Maldives will see frontline workers at risk of infection and those suffering from chronic conditions such as thalassemia patients get vaccinated against Covid-19, in addition to those who are considered high-risk for complications from the virus. In addition to healthcare workers, frontline workers include officers from the Maldives Police Service and Maldives National Defense Force, in addition to Waste Management Corporation (WAMCO) employees and those working on the frontlines at Velana International Airport and in providing other essential transport services.

While 34 persons were administered their first dose of the Covishield vaccine in Male' on Monday, 30 persons each were vaccinated in both Addu and Kulhudhuffushi City. By 6pm Tuesday, a total of 880 people had been vaccinated against Covid-19 across the country, 666 of which corresponded to doses administered through the six vaccination centers in the Greater Male' area.