Lebanon on Thursday asked the World Bank to increase its support for Lebanon in the various challenges, especially in terms of increasing the amount of COVID-19 vaccines that are being gradually delivered to the country.
The request was voiced by Caretaker Health Minister Hamad Hassan during a meeting with the Regional Director of the Mashreq Department at the World Bank Group, Saroj Kumar Jha, as they discussed the national vaccination plan against the coronavirus pandemic.
On Thursday, the Ministry said batches of the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine will arrive in Lebanon starting mid-March.
MP Assem Araji, head of the parliamentary health committee, expected a delay in reaching herd immunity against Covid-19 in Lebanon, especially after the rise in the number of infections over the citizens’ failure to adhere to preventive measures, as well as the state’s failure to aptly implement a gradual lifting of the lockdown.
Speaking to the National News Agency, the MP blamed the increase of daily COVID-19 infections on the limited number of vaccines reaching the country.
“The few batches of vaccines that have arrived in Lebanon do not meet the needs required to vaccinate the largest possible number of people,” he said.
Araji pointed out that the countries that produced the jabs preferred to start vaccinating their own people and that there were about 120 states that haven’t received vaccines yet.
“We are trying our best to import the largest number of vaccines, even with the help of private companies, but unfortunately, we have not succeeded," he explained, citing problems from the countries of origin.
The World Trade Organization has called on countries to pressure companies to increase their production of vaccines, and the UN Security Council has also issued a statement urging justice in distributing vaccines all over the world.
“If we can secure the required number of vaccines to vaccinate 85% of citizens and residents, we will be able to achieve herd immunity by the end of this year,” the deputy added.
Araji said some companies had applied to import vaccines and had received approval from the Ministry of Health, but the producing firms have not heeded their requests yet.
He finally called on citizens to "adhere to preventive measures so that we can control the pandemic,” noting that "the health sector is fully exhausted.”
In the past 24 hours, Lebanon registered 3,518 new coronavirus cases and 50 more deaths.
Meanwhile, the Lebanese authorities are working to prohibit any attempt to sell the COVID-19 vaccines on the black market.
Some private companies and pharmacies are promoting, through social media advertisements, the coronavirus vaccine using the logo of the Health Ministry.
In a statement, the ministry said: “This is a true violation of the law." It warned the people not to trust such ads.
