Director-General of Public Health Maimoona Abubakur has requested government institutions, agencies and companies to support the nationwide vaccination programme.
The vaccination programme began on July 31 with the aim of inoculating 90% of the eligible Maldivian population from COVID-19 by the end of August.
Although health authorities have been encouraging Maldivians to get vaccinated, Director-General Maimoona has called on government institutions to give more support to the vaccination programme. Maimoona requested the heads of government institutions to confirm if their employees are vaccinated and said that they would receive assistance in vaccinating their employees. She made the statement in order to reduce outbreaks of COVID-19 after the opening of government offices and ease in restrictions on businesses and travelling.
Health Protection Agency (HPA) stated receiving COVID-19 vaccines will reduce the chance of another outbreak and allow the economy to recover.
President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, Vice President Faisal Naseem, as well as cabinet members, and religious scholars have called on all citizens to receive their vaccines since the Maldives has enough doses to inoculate the entire eligible population.
HPA has established the website book.hpa.gov.mv for individuals to book appointments online and has recently established help desks at vaccination centres to assist individuals with issues regarding booking appointments. So far, more than 70% of the eligible population have received the COVID-19 vaccine, while 27% of the eligible population remain unvaccinated in the Maldives.