Tunisia’s Minister of Health, Faouzi Mehdi says the government will accelerate Covid-19 vaccinations in order to reduce the spread of the disease and ease pressure on hospitals.
Mehdi made this remark after Tunisian authorities received a donation of 324,000 AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses from France on Sunday.
Already a campaign to offer vaccinations on Tuesday and Wednesday, during the Muslim festival of Eid El Adha, has been rolled out.
“We have decided open days for vaccinations in 29 centres for all Tunisians over 18,” he said.
Tunisia has so far fully vaccinated about 913,000 people, a figure which represents just 8% of the 12 million population.
The country has reported 546,000 Coronavirus cases and over 17,000 deaths. 145 deaths per day were recorded in the country last week.
France’s 324,000 AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine donation to France was made under the COVAX partnership which involves Gavi – the Vaccine Alliance – the World Health Organisation, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and UNICEF.
French Ambassador to Tunisia, André Parant, said a second donation of 800,000 doses will be made in the coming days.
Recently, Tunisia has received vaccine donations from European and Arab countries, after the government made a desperate appeal in response to a growing number of patients suffering from Covid-19.
