Morocco received, this Friday, July 2, 2021, an additional 500,000 doses of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine. Enough to correct the slowdown in its vaccination campaign against the coronavirus.
The summer season as well as the easing of restrictive measures expose Morocco to a resurgence of Covid-19 cases, particularly in these times of spread of the Delta variant, which is very contagious. This is what Dr. Tayeb Hamdi, researcher in health policies and systems and vice-president of the National Federation of Health, declares in an interview with Challenge .
The national vaccination campaign is regaining momentum this Friday with the delivery of a new batch of the Sinopharm vaccine. For some weeks, the Moroccan authorities have refused any communication on the matter.
Moroccans who have received the Covishield vaccine manufactured in India cannot travel to European Union countries. The Indian vaccine could have "differences" with the original, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said on Wednesday.
While Morocco is recording an increase in the Covid 19 infection rate, and only a third of the population has received the first dose of the vaccine, the Ministry of Health would have given instructions to vaccination centers to stop administering the first dose for both types of vaccine from June 30. A decision that raises questions about the real availability of the vaccine in Morocco.
When questioned about the Kingdom’s vaccination strategy in the response against covid, the former scientific director of "Warp Speed" operation in the United States, Dr. Moncef Slaoui of Moroccan origin, Moncef Slaoui , affirms that Morocco has been able to access the necessary vaccine doses to protect its population against the new coronavirus. He reaffirms his availability to help the kingdom produce its vaccine.
Morocco is not immune to a new wave of Covid-19 contamination, despite the improvement in the epidemiological situation and the decline in deaths and cases admitted to intensive care, warned the researcher at the Faculty of Medicine in Rabat, Khalid Fathi, calling for extreme vigilance.
Like other countries, Morocco is facing a worrying delay in its vaccination campaign. To this end, the project of local production of vaccines against Covid-19 is increasingly being considered, both at the state and private levels. In order to defeat the virus, the health authorities wish to depend less solely on vaccine imports.
Abdelkrim Meziane Bellefquih, head of the communicable diseases division, says the infection rate has seen a significant increase (+12.05%). He calls for more vigilance to avoid any resurgence of the spread of the virus.
Some practices of the managers of the printing houses in charge of printing the vaccination passport in different regions of Morocco are not to the liking of the Minister of the Interior, Abdelouafi Laftit . He warns them against any falsification of the vaccination passport.
Several cases of Covid-19 infections have been detected among Moroccans coming from the Middle East or Gulf countries, placed in a 10-day quarantine according to the health measures in force for travelers from the B list countries.
Morocco received, this Saturday, June 19, 2021, an additional one million doses of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine. Enough to maintain the pace of vaccination and achieve collective immunity before the end of July.