The national Covid-19 vaccination programme has seen the inoculation of a total of 137,124 persons across the country thus far.
The Health Protection Agency (HPA)’s most recent vaccination update indicates that Thursday saw the inoculation of a total of 7,712 individuals across the nation. This includes 4,144 people vaccinated across 169 vaccination centers in atolls, and 3,568 vaccinations conducted from eight centers and two mobile vaccination teams in the Greater Malé area.
A total of 137,124 persons across the Maldives had been vaccinated by sundown on Thursday, out of which 84,891 are from the capital Malé City and 52,233 persons across atolls.
Vaccinations are now open for all those above the age of 18 years of age living in Male', in addition to high-risk groups over the age of 18, and caretakers of elderly or chronically ill bedridden patients.
The Maldives reached a milestone in its pandemic story on Saturday, when 100,000 people across the country were administered their first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covishield vaccines produced by India’s Serum Institute.
The nationwide inoculation drive was initiated by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on February 1.
Recently, the administration attracted international praise for the rapid and organized Covid-19 vaccination efforts, with the United Nation's Resident Coordinator in Maldives Catherine Haswell praising the equitable distribution of vaccines as an example for other world countries.
Spokesperson for the Health Emergency Operations Center (HEOC) Dr. Nazla Rafeeq has stressed the importance of vaccinating in order to build herd-immunity against Covid-19 within Maldivian communities, adding that this would be the only way Covid-19 health and safety restrictions could be eased across the country.
Currently, only the India-sourced Covishield vaccine has been cleared for emergency use in the island nation and Maldives currently has secured enough doses of Covid-19 vaccines to immunize all those living in the Maldives against Covid-19, free of cost as per the government's Covid-response plan, through various agreements and foreign commitments.
