Over 50,000 people receive first dose of Covid-19 vaccine

Over 50,000 people in the Maldives had received the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine, by Tuesday evening.

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) set a new daily vaccination record on Tuesday which saw 6,230 people receiving the first dose across the country. This includes 4,020 in capital Male’ as well as 2,090 from vaccination centers set up in various outlying islands. Further, as part of the tourism ministry’s efforts to vaccinate frontline sector workers, a total of 120 were vaccinated from resorts on Tuesday.

While Tuesday’s 6,230, a total of 50,047 people have received the first dose of Covid-19 in the Maldives since the nationwide vaccination drive was launched on February 1. This includes 39,309 people from the Male’ region as well as 10,519 from atolls and 219 from resorts.

Health authorites have now opened the call for vaccination for all those over the age of 40 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.

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.

As part of the efforts to ensure that all residents of Maldives are vaccinated against Covid-19, the Maldivian Red Crescent (MRC) who is assisting the government in their work, confirmed that vaccination efforts will be conducted for undocumented foreign workers as well.