Anti-Covid-19 vaccination campaign likely to start by the end of December in Morocco, Minister says

The long-awaited vaccination campaign against the new coronavirus in Morocco is expected to start by the end of December, Health Minister Khalid Ait Taleb has announced.

In an interview with Le360, the Minister explained that he cannot give a precise date to the exact start of the campaign, because this depends on the sufficient availability of the acquired lots. «As soon as the exact dates are decided, we will officially announce them. Today, in any case, we are doing what it takes to launch this campaign by the end of the month», he said.

As for the partnerships between Morocco and China, the minister also stressed that the developer of the Sinopharm vaccine will provide the kingdom with lots covering the needs of more than 20 million inhabitants, while a second acquisition of the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca will cover the needs of 12 million more.

In accordance with the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO), the Minister recalled that the people to be first vaccinated are frontliners, citizens in a vulnerable state of health, then the rest of the population. 

The goal will be to cover 80% of the country's inhabitants, in order to ensure effective immunization to fight against the spread of the pandemic, according to Khalid Ait Taleb.