President Irfaan Ali last evening announced that the COVID-19 vaccination campaign will be expanded next week to include persons over 40 and more shots are being procured for this.
He said that once the heightened vaccination campaign gets rolling the government hopes to inoculate as many as 10,000 persons per day. At the moment around 2,000 persons per day are being vaccinated which means that a major effort will be needed to accomplish 10,000 per day. Furthermore, large vaccine shipments will be needed.
Just over 25,000 persons have received their first vaccination. To date the government only has vaccines for 51,500 persons. It has since purchased 200,000 Russian Sputnik 5 vaccines – enough for 100,000 persons – from the United Arab Emirates. These vaccines are expected in 50,000 tranches beginning next and would be necessary to fulfil the expanded vaccination campaign.