Morocco has acquired 65 million doses of coronavirus vaccine from China and the United Kingdom, as it plans to immunize 80% of its adult population.
Moroccan officials said Chinese vaccines Sinopharm and AstraZeneca will be used as the country prepares to launch its COVID-19 vaccination program, The Associated Press reported Friday.
Health Minister Khalid Ait Taleb made the announcement for the first time at a cabinet meeting on Thursday.
The country has not yet received the vaccines, the health ministry said on Friday.
Regulators are reviewing Sinopharm vaccine documentation and this vaccination program is expected to begin in the coming days, according to Mustapha Ennaji Moulay, head of the virology department at Hassan II University in Casablanca and a member of the government’s COVID-19 scientific committee. the P.
Morocco intends to vaccinate 25 million of the country’s 36 million people for free under the orders of King Mohammed VI, the AP reported. The country will first administer vaccines to medical personnel, public authorities, security services, education workers and people suffering from chronic diseases.
Morocco has reported the second highest number of coronavirus cases in Africa, behind South Africa. Morocco has reported 428,000 cases and more than 7,000 deaths, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University.