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Libya Speeds up Efforts to Launch Covid Vaccination Campaign

The Libyan National Center for Disease Control kicks off an awareness campaign on the importance of receiving the Covid vaccine. (Libyan National Center for Disease Control)
The Libyan National Center for Disease Control kicks off an awareness campaign on the importance of receiving the Covid vaccine. (Libyan National Center for Disease Control)
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Libya Speeds up Efforts to Launch Covid Vaccination Campaign

The Libyan National Center for Disease Control kicks off an awareness campaign on the importance of receiving the Covid vaccine. (Libyan National Center for Disease Control)
The Libyan National Center for Disease Control kicks off an awareness campaign on the importance of receiving the Covid vaccine. (Libyan National Center for Disease Control)

Libyan authorities are speeding up their efforts to kick off their COVID-19 vaccination campaign amid an increase in infections and deaths in the country.

Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibeh launched the vaccination program at the beginning of the week, calling it a "blessed day" in the fight against COVID-19 after he received his first shot.

Head of the Libyan National Center for Disease Control Badr Al-Deen Al-Najjar said that 18 municipalities are now ready to receive the Sputnik V vaccines.

The center has been preparing inoculation centers to meet the required procedures for storing and then giving the vaccines.

Najjar said the center has so far received 253,000 doses of the Sputnik V and AstraZeneca vaccines and is awaiting approval for their use.

He urged people to sign up to receive the vaccine through registering through the dedicated website.

So far, only 450,000 people have registered, but he hoped more would join soon, adding that the Sputnik V vaccine will be given to people under 60, while AstraZeneca will be given to those above 60.

"Sputnik V is the most used vaccine in dozens of countries, has very few side effects and has an efficiency rate of 90%. The center launched a campaign in cooperation with UNICEF to monitor the vaccination process in all of the municipalities." Najjar continued.

Health Minister Ali Al-Zanati said previously the government has so far ordered enough doses to inoculate 1.4 million of the country's more than seven million people.

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Syria President Vows those Involved in Church Attack will Face Justice

The attack was the first of its kind in the Syrian capital since Islamist-led forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December - AFP
The attack was the first of its kind in the Syrian capital since Islamist-led forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December - AFP
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Syria President Vows those Involved in Church Attack will Face Justice

The attack was the first of its kind in the Syrian capital since Islamist-led forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December - AFP
The attack was the first of its kind in the Syrian capital since Islamist-led forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December - AFP

Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa vowed Monday that those involved in a "heinous" suicide attack on a Damascus church a day earlier would face justice, calling for unity in the country.

The shooting and suicide bombing Sunday at the church in the working-class Dwelaa district of the Syrian capital killed 25 people and wounded 63, the health ministry said, raising an earlier toll of 22 killed.

The authorities said the attacker was affiliated with the Islamic State group.

"We promise... that we will work night and day, mobilising all our specialized security agencies, to capture all those who participated in and planned this heinous crime and to bring them to justice," Sharaa said in a statement, AFP reported.

The attack "reminds us of the importance of solidarity and unity of the government and the people in facing all that threatens our nation's security and stability", he added.

Condemnation has continued to pour in from the international community after the attack -- the first of its kind in the Syrian capital since the toppling of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December.

It was also the first inside a church in Syria since the country's civil war erupted in 2011, according to a monitor, in a country where security remains one of the new authorities' greatest challenges.

Since the new authorities took power, the international community has repeatedly urged the government to protect minorities and ensure their participation in Syria's transition, particularly after sectarian violence in recent months.