Minister of Health Ahmed Naseem has appreciated the efforts of all government and non-government agencies in the National Vaccination Programme. He made the remarks at a ceremony held in recognition of individuals who worked in the vaccination programme.
During the ceremony, Health Minister Naseem said there is no agency that is not involved in the efforts to control the COVID-19 situation and the successful implementation of the vaccination programme. He said COVID-19 shocked the whole country and noted more than 300 people succumbed to the pandemic.
Moreover, Minister Naseem noted the Maldives has survived the terrible situation and that it has been controlled, adding that workers of the vaccination campaign were one team that worked hard to overcome the situation. With confidence, the minister acknowledged that the Maldives is one of the countries that controlled the situation the best. He said the vaccination campaign was carried out in the Maldives without any discrimination against foreigners and Maldivians alike.
During the ceremony, memorial plaques were presented to 48 institutions that provided assistance in various ways to the vaccine campaign. As such, memorial plaques were conferred to government institutions, companies, hospitals and associations.
Speaking at the ceremony, Director General of Public Health Maimoona Aboobakuru said it is the largest vaccination campaign ever conducted in the Maldives and the results have been remarkable. She appreciated all agencies and volunteers worked tirelessly with great enthusiasm in carrying out tasks as providing vaccination equipment, transporting equipment, preparing and running the centres, raising awareness, maintaining statistics and maintaining the portal and database.
As part of the vaccination programme, 951,198 doses of vaccine were administered in the Maldives. As per statistics, 85% of the eligible population has completed the vaccine doses. The national vaccination campaign was launched in February 2021 and the campaign is still ongoing.