Minister of Health Ahmed Naseem has stated the Maldives could become the first country to vaccinate the entire population against COVID-19.
Speaking at the ceremony held to mark the arrival of the 100,000 doses of Covishield vaccines granted to the Maldives by India, Health Minister Naseem stated the government’s efforts to procure enough vaccines for the whole population of the Maldives look promising. As such, he noted efforts are ongoing to procure vaccines through the World Health Organisation (WHO), while the government is also in talks with AstraZeneca Singapore to purchase vaccines for the whole population. He said there is a good chance that the Maldives could become the first country to vaccinate its entire population against COVID-19.
Speaking at the ceremony, Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid also expressed confidence that the entire Maldivian population will have access to COVID-19 vaccines. He thanked the Indian government for the generous assistance in providing COVID-19 vaccines to the Maldives, noting it resembles the close brotherly relations between the two countries which have grown stronger than ever in the past two years.
The Covishield vaccine which arrived in the Maldives on January 20 is manufactured by the Serum Institute of India. The vaccine was developed based on the research of Oxford/AstraZeneca and has completed its clinical trials.
Serum Institute of India produces over 1.5 billion doses of different vaccines every year, which are used in 170 countries around the world.