Africa-Press – Mauritius. The Prime Minister, Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, effected a site visit at Quartier Militaire District Council conference hall, this afternoon, to take stock of the ongoing vaccination campaign against COVID-19, where the milestone of 500,000 inoculated persons has been reached.
Some 800 persons received their first dose today at the Council and the vaccination exercise will be carried out tomorrow as well. The Vice-Prime Minister, Minister of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology, Mrs Leela Devi Dookun-Luchoomun, the Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Kailesh Kumar Singh Jagutpal, as well as other eminent personalities were present on this occasion.
In a statement, Prime Minister Jugnauth recalled that the vaccination campaign kick-started in January 2021 and that, as soon as vaccines were available on the market, Government undertook necessary actions to procure doses for the population.
He commended countries, in particular India and China, which have helped Mauritius to acquire vaccines, and added that Government is doing its best to procure additional doses of the vaccine.
As such, a consignment of Sputnik V vaccine is expected to reach Mauritius from Russia, some other 500,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccine will be bought from China, and more doses are expected to be received from the COVAX Facility, he underlined.
The Prime Minister is hopeful that Mauritius soon receives the additional doses of vaccines so as to better plan its vaccination campaign in order to reach the target of inoculating 60% of the population soon.
The fact that more than 500,000 persons have been vaccinated, he underscored, means that one adult out of two has been inoculated with at least one dose of the vaccine as at date.
Furthermore, Prime Minister Jugnauth commended all those who have been vaccinated. He pointed out that they are not only protecting themselves but members of their family as well from COVID-19.
The pandemic, he reminded, also had negative effects on the economy and some sectors have still not been able to operate again. In addition, he expressed satisfaction that more than 40% of the population has received the first dose of vaccine as compared to a smaller percentage for some other developed countries.
The Prime Minister however deplored the fact that the African continent is the last one to receive vaccines, before pointing out that very few countries in Africa have procured the vaccine so far. Moreover, the Prime Minister again reiterated his appeal to all those who satisfy the criteria to be vaccinated to do so at the earliest.
