Morocco has purchased 65 million doses of coronavirus vaccine from China and the United Kingdom because it intends to immunize 80% of its adult population.
Moroccan officials say China’s Sinopharm and Britain’s AstraZeneca vaccines will be used as the country prepares to launch its COVID-19 vaccination program, the Associated Press reported on Friday.
The Minister of Health, Khalid Ait Taleb, made the announcement for the first time during 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 the vaccination program is expected to begin in the coming days, said 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. AP.
Morocco aims 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 staff, public authorities, security services, education workers and people suffering from chronic diseases.
Morocco reported the second largest number of coronavirus cases in Africa, behind South Africa. Morocco reported 428,000 cases and more than 7,000 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.