The Maldives has successfully vaccinated over 100,000 people against Covid-19 since the beginning of February.

The vaccination update made public by Health Protection Agemncy (HPA) on Saturday shows that, by February 27, a total of 105,492 persons across the Maldives have received their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. This includes 72,872 persons vaccinated in the greater Male' area, and 32,620 persons inoculated across different atolls.

6,073 people were administered doses of the Covishield vaccine between Friday and Saturday, including 3,147 persons vaccinated in the Male' area and 2,926 people who received vaccines from vaccination centers set up in atolls.

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih initiated the Maldives' national Covid-19 vaccination programme "Covid-19 Dhifaau" on 1 February. Vaccinations were conducted with priority being given to elderly persons, those considered at high-risk of compilations from the virus, and those working on the frontlines across the Maldives. Vaccines have now been transported to all inhabited atolls of the Maldives, and resorts have begun vaccinated employees working within the tourism sector as well.

In addition to this, companies, clubs and associations, and those parties working within the tourism, fisheries and agricultutral sectors now have the opportunity to register for group vaccinations. Further, the Maldives Red Crescent has been conducting invaluable efforts to vaccinate undocumented migrant workers living in the Maldives against the infection.

HPA has also noted the importance of caretakers of elderly and chronically ill persons to also get vaccinated in order to afford protection to high-risk persons around them.

While the Maldives has reached an important milestone in the island nation's pandemic story with 100,000 vaccinations conducted by Saturday, only the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covishield vaccine has been cleared to use in the island nation. The Maldives received an additional 100,000 doses of the vaccine from India in a symbolic handover ceremony conducted earlier this month.

Presently, the island nation has secured enough doses of Covid-19 vaccines to immunize all those living in the Maldives against Covid-19, free of cost and as per the government's Covid-response plan, through various agreements and foreign commitments.