Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated COVID-19 vaccines will be procured to the Maldives through donations and commercial contracts with favourable rates, as part of efforts to vaccinate the entire population.
Speaking at a programme aired on PSM News, Joint Secretary at the foreign ministry Midhfa Naeem said the ministry has been working on procuring COVID-19 vaccines to the Maldives since vaccines were first prepared for rollout in a global scale. Midhfa said vaccines are being procured through donations from countries with close bilateral relations with the Maldives, as well as commercial contracts with manufacturing companies. She said the ministry has been working on securing vaccines at favourable prices through commercial contacts established with the help of bilateral ties.
Speaking further, Midhfa said in addition to the vaccines which have received authorisation from World Health Organisation (WHO), the government is also working on procuring vaccines which are close to receiving authorisation. She said significant progress has been achieved in the efforts to vaccinate the entire population of the Maldives, as pledged by the government.
The COVID-19 vaccination programme began in the Maldives on February 1, with 100,000 doses of Covishield vaccine granted by India. Since then, India has granted another 100,000 doses of Covishield vaccine to the Maldives.
Furthermore, China has also decided to grant 100,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine to the Maldives. A private party has also donated 5,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine, produced by China.
So far, over 70,000 people have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Two shots are required to complete the dosage, with 4-12 weeks required between the two shots. Health Emergency Operation Centre (HEOC) stated the second dose will be administered 8 weeks after the first dose.