Covid-19: AstraZeneca vaccine on its way to Morocco

Morocco has sent an airplane to Mumbai to ship the coronavirus vaccine, ending weeks of waiting and uncertainties.

The plane is on its way to India as the foreign ministry there cleared the commercial exports of COVID-19 vaccines, with the first consignments to be shipped to Morocco and Brazil, the Indian foreign minister told Reuters.

The AstraZeneca and Oxford University doses are manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, the world’s biggest producer of vaccines, which has received orders from countries across the world.

The Indian government had held off exporting doses until it began its own domestic immunization program last weekend. Earlier this week, it sent free supplies to neighboring countries including Bhutan, Maldives, Bangladesh and Nepal, Reuters reported.

Head of the Moroccan government has reassured that all preparations are in place to launch the vaccination campaign once doses arrive.

Morocco aims to vaccinate 25 million people starting with front-liners, including health workers, security forces, teachers and people in vulnerable health conditions.

He ascribed the delay in receiving the vaccine to the enormous demand adding that “it was natural for countries that produce the vaccine to purchase the first output.”

So far Morocco prepared 3000 vaccine locations and mobilized 25,531 health workers for the campaign which he said once started will run for 12 weeks.

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