Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom and wife Nasreena Ibrahim have both received their first doses of the Covishield vaccine at Senahiya Hospital on Wednesday.

The 83-year-old former president confirmed their inoculation in a tweet, and asked all citizens to receive the vaccine and be protective of their health.

On Tuesday, Former Vice-President and member of Ex-President Abdulla Yameen's legal team Dr. Mohamed Jameel Ahmed also received a dose of the Covishield vaccine, following the lead of former President Dr. Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik, who was also inoculated earlier this week. While high-profile leaders of the opposition coalition have lined up to receive Covid-19 vaccines and use their platforms to instill confidence into the science behind vaccine immunity, many members of opposition parties continue to sow doubt about the Covishield vaccine, in addition to protesting against vaccination on the streets of Male'.

A nation-wide Covid-19 vaccination programme kicked off in the Maldives on 1 February 2021, with leaders of all three branches of government receiving their first doses of Covishield on life TV as a show of confidence in the vaccines.