Maldives has reached a milestone in its efforts against COVID-19, with 50% of the eligible population fully vaccinated. In the Maldives, vaccination is given to people aged 18 years and above.
Citing to the latest statistics of the Health Emergency Operation Centre (HEOC), Spokesperson Dr. Fathimath Nazla Rafeeq expressed 50% of the eligible population of the Maldives receiving the vaccine is a huge milestone.
Maldives Food and Drug Authority (MFDA) has authorised a total of six COVID-19 vaccines in the Maldives. The authorised vaccines are Covishield, Sinopharm, Pfizer and Sputnik V, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson. Currently, Maldives is generally rolling out Covishield and Sinopharm vaccine while the Pfizer vaccine is given under special circumstances.
Maldives began administering COVID-19 vaccines on February 1 with the rollout of the Covishield vaccine. A large part of the Maldivian population has now received the first dose of the Covishield vaccine. However, Health Protection Agency (HPA) suspended the rollout of Covishield in May due to decreasing stocks of the vaccine in the Maldives, which was commenced after a two-month hiatus.