The latest vaccination update released by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) show that an additional 5,294 people received their first doses of the Covishield vaccine on Monday, bringing the total number of Covid-19 vaccinations conducted in the Maldives thus far up to 43,817.
3,967 persons out of the 5,204 vaccinated on Monday received their shots from eight vaccination centers in the Greater Male' area, with 1,237 people having been vaccinated across 56 vaccination centers established across atolls. With this, a total of 35,289 people have been vaccinated against Covid-19 from the Male' region since the beginning of February, and 8,429 persons have been inoculated across atolls thus far.
With this, a total of 43,817 people have been vaccinated against Covid-19 in the Maldives.
99 persons were vaccinated from operational resorts in the Maldives on Sunday, but no vaccinations were conducted in resorts on Monday. However, the Dhamanaveshi Mobile Team has now started vaccination efforts for those persons bed-ridden due to illness or disability in Male', with mobile vaccination efforts to be initiated in Hulhumale' on Wednesday.
Health authorites have now opened the call for vaccination for all those over the age of 45 in the Male' area, and for those between ages 18 and 45 considered to be at high-rsisk for complications from the Covid-19 vaccination. Vaccinations will be conducted between 9am and 5pm at the Social Center, Islamic Center (Masjid al-Sultan) and at the Hulhumale' Flu Clinic, and from between 9am and 1pm at the Villimale' Youth Center.
On Monday, Spokesperson for the Health Emergency Operations Center (HEOD) Dr. Nazla Rafeeq received her first dose of the Covishield vaccine. She confirmed her vaccination status in a tweet posted Monday night, and highlighted the importance of receiving the vaccine in order to protect vulnerable loved ones from Covid-19.
The Maldivian Red Crescent has confirmed that vaccination efforts will be conducted for undocumented foreign workers living in the Maldives on Monday. The Maldivian Red Crescent has been contributing to the government's efforts to control the spread of Covid-19 in the country, including providing logistics support at vaccination centers and establishing mobile vaccination services
Official data collected by the Our World in Data research team at the University of Oxford places the Maldives in the top 10 of world countries in administering daily Covid-19 vaccine doses per 100 people of the nation's total population based on a 7-day rolling average. Based on current statistics, and if the trend for vaccination can be maintained, the Maldives will be heading for the top 10 countries worldwide in Covid-19 vaccinations conducted, and is expected to reach herd immunity under 70 days in such an event.
Health authorities have announced that vaccination efforts would continue in the Maldives until all 100,000 Covishield vaccines were administered as first doses, and have confirmed that the country is set to receive additional doses of the vaccines within the month. Authorities continue to conduct vaccination efforts in such a away that they would not have to be halted due to a shortage of vaccines.
President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has previously described the Maldives' Covid-19 response plan as to vaccinate all those living in the Maldives against the infection over a six-month period, free of cost.
