More than 4,200 Covid-19 vaccine doses were administered across the Maldives within five days.

Health Protection Agency (HPA) revealed that 4,269 individuals had been vaccinated by 6pm on Friday, out of which 1,003 vaccine doses were administered on Friday.

787 of the vaccine doses administered by Friday evening are in the greater Male’ area, bringing the total vaccinated in the region to 3,573. 216 were inoculated in vaccination centers across different atolls on Friday, pushing total vaccinated in outlying atolls to 696.

While Covid-19 healthcare and frontline workers are being prioritized, in addition to high-risk individuals, a total of 108 police officers were their first vaccine doses on Friday as well.

HPA on Saturday started vaccination for individuals above 55 living in greater Male’ area.

The government launched the nationwide Covid-19 vaccination drive last Monday, with President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and other senior government officials receiving their initial dose of the two-dose vaccine on live TV in order to show confidence in the Covishield vaccine provided by India as grant assistance.

The president has on multiple occasions stressed the government’s efforts to vaccinate all those living in the Maldives free of cost, within six months. Most recently, during his third presidential address on Thursday, President Solih revealed that the government has guaranteed contracts for the procurement of sufficient supplies of vaccines "to all Maldivians and residents", and called upon the public to continue to provide their full support to in the government’s Covid-19 recovery efforts.