Lebanon has signed two agreements with foreign pharmaceutical companies on the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines and would be among the first states to receive them in the first quarter of 2021, an Official said.
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The Health Minister, Hamad Hassan said this on Monday in Beirut.
“Lebanon has signed two agreements, the first is on the COVAX platform to provide 1.2 million people [with a vaccine], the second one with Pfizer for around a million people.
“The signing of these two deals is an achievement for Lebanon, which will receive among the first countries, vaccines against the coronavirus in the first quarter of the next year,” Hassan said.
The minister pointed out that the health ministry had requested the Lebanese central bank to allocate funds for additional flu shots, with Beirut expecting the delivery of 300,000 doses in November.
The ministry will be accountable for the distribution of vaccines, and children, the elderly people, and citizens of a high-risk group will be given priority to be immunised.
Speaking about a nationwide lockdown introduced in Lebanon from Nov. 14 to Nov.30 as part of anti-COVID-19 measures, Hassan explained that the first results would appear only at the end of the week.
According to the minister, this measure is needed to bring the coronavirus situation under control and prepare extra beds for patients in medical facilities.
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To date, the number of COVID-19 cases in Lebanon has exceeded 105,000, including more than 60,000 recoveries and 817 deaths.