Morocco’s vaccination campaign speeds up after vaccine pass
Morocco has registered an exponential rise in people taking first Covid-19 jabs bringing the country closer to reaching the goal of immunizing 80% of its population aged over 12 years old, health minister Khalid Ait Taleb said.
Starting from last Thursday, only fully vaccinated people can access the workplace, cafes, restaurants in addition to inter-city travel and other public places
Speaking to MPs, Ait Taleb said the vaccine pass was the most appropriate measure to protect public health and prevent the loss in lives and economic damage that may result from an upcoming wave of the virus.
He said the vaccine pass is part of pro-active and precautionary measures taken to facilitate a rapid return to normalcy.
A temporary vaccine pass can be downloaded after taking the first dose, said Ait Taleb, adding that the pass was an optimal solution to encourage people to get the vaccine.
After the first day of the entry into force of the vaccine pass, which has substituted other Covid-19 related permits, there was a 464% increase in people taking the first dose, while people who came to take the second and third doses rose respectively by 409% and 442%.
So far, Morocco gave first jabs to 23.7 million people or 64% of the Moroccan population while 21.5 million people have received two doses and 1 million took a third booster jab.
With the increase in the vaccination pace thanks to the pass decision, Morocco can inoculate 80% of its population in the upcoming weeks as it plans to extend the vaccine to illegal migrants, abandoned children and people with special needs.
The vaccine pass was met with opposition from a number of rights groups and citizens who launched a campaign against the pass on social media.
In the parliament, a heated debate was triggered after authorities prevented two MPs from entering the parliament to attend the session with the minister.
Speaker of the parliament said that “no one is above the law,” adding that the vaccine pass was taken under Article 3 of emergency decree to protect citizens.
