Contrary to El Othmani’s statement, Morocco is not the first African country to launch vaccination campaign

Head of Government Saadeddine El Othmani said Tuesday, during a monthly session at the parliament, that «Morocco will be the first African country to launch the anti-Covid-19 vaccination campaign».

However, this statement is far from being true. Seychelles, a country in East Africa, officially started its anti-Covid-19 vaccination campaign, relying on the Sinopharm-developed vaccine, on January 10.

«Some people have mentioned that a country in Africa (would have received the vaccine), that is false», El Othmani claimed.

The archipelago has benefited from a donation of 50,000 doses from the United Arab Emirates, AFP reports. The East African country is also expecting to receive 50,000 doses of the AstraZeneca / Oxford vaccine. The latter is a donation from the Indian government which Seychelles is expected to receive by the end of January.

For the record, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have already launched their vaccination campaigns against Covid-19.