Myanmar receives over 12.38 mln jabs of COVID-19 vaccine till 23 Oct

A total of over 12.38 million jabs of the COVID-19 vaccine has been administered in Myanmar till 23 October, according to the Ministry of Health.
As of 23 October, there were 5.7 million people who had received two doses of the vaccine and 6.68 million people who had received one dose, over 12.38 million in total, according to the Ministry.
Fifty per cent of the total population is expected to get vaccinated at the end of this year. The country has already received 18 million doses of vaccines till 23 October, including two million doses of the Covishield vaccine, 14 million doses of Sinopharm vaccine and two million doses of Sinovac vaccine. Myanmar has also accepted over six million doses of COVID-19 vaccines from China, India and Russia, according to the Ministry.
Further, Myanmar has already purchased 24 million Sinopharm vaccines from China under the contract system. As soon as the vaccine arrives, Myanmar will offer vaccines to 12 million people aged between 40 and 64.
The country has been administering vaccinations since January 2021, using the China-made Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines, across the country. World Health Organization already allows China-made Sinopharm and Sinovac COVID-19 vaccines for use in emergency cases. The WHO also recommended that above aged 18 people can get two kinds of Sinopharm and Sinovac COVID-19 vaccines.
Besides, efforts are being made to increase the number of vaccines available and coordinate the purchase of vaccines.
Since 14 September, the target groups are being vaccinated for the first time with the COVID-19 vaccine. The number of COVID-19 cases and deaths globally slightly decreased by 10 per cent each in last week, according to the WHO’s weekly report on COVID-19 released on 28 September. — Aye Maung/GNLM