Covid-19: Sunday records 5,923 vaccinations conducted nationwide

Health professionals vaccinated a total of 5,923 persons across the country on Sunday, bringing the total number of those administered the Covishield vaccine in the Maldives up to 111,415.

The most recent vaccination update made public by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) confirms that a total of 5,923 persons were vaccinated against Covid-19 in the Maldives on Sunday. This includes 2,291 persons vaccinated from the Greater Male' area, in addition to 3,632 people vaccinated across 169 vaccination centers in atolls.

There are presently seven vaccination centers and two mobile vaccination teams active in Male' City, where vaccinations are open for ages 20 and above, high-risk groups between 18 and 20 years, and caretakers of elderly or chronically ill bedridden patients.

The Maldives reached a milestone in the island nation's pandemic story on Saturday, when100,000 people across the country were confirmed to have received their first dose of the Covishield vaccine. President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih had initiated the national Covid-19 vaccination programme on 1 February, and a total of 111,415 have been vaccinated by sundown on the last day of the month. This includes 75,163 people living in the Greater Male' area, and 36,252 persons who received vaccines from atolls outside the capital.

While the Maldives seen over 111,000 vaccinations conducted by Sunday, only the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covishield vaccine has been cleared for emergency 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.