510,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in Qatar so far: MoPH
Qatar has spared no effort in protecting the health of its citizens and residents since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
From allocating dedicated facilities to test and manage COVID-19 patients to negotiating with top international pharmaceutical companies to secure safe and reliable vaccines for its population.
With the expansion of Qatar's COVID-19 vaccination campaign, its Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) recently opened a temporary vaccination center at Qatar National Convention Center (QNCC) as well as set up a drive-through vaccination facility in Lusail.
At least 10 percent of Qatar’s adult population has already gotten at least one shot of the COVID-19 vaccine, the Ministry stated earlier this month.
Now, the MoPH has announced that at least 510,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered since the beginning of the nationwide vaccination drive.
The recent availability of increased quantities of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines has accelerated the vaccination program in that 100,000 doses are given every week, MoPH mentioned.
Accordingly, on a daily basis, about 14,000 of Qatar’s most vulnerable community members and essential workers are receiving the vaccination and being safeguarded against the virus.
The Ministry underlined that with its emphasis on the importance of vaccinations for the elderly, the number of older people getting vaccinated is on the rise.
Since the beginning of February, the number of doses administered each week has gone up by 270 percent and more than one in seven adults, 15 percent of Qatar's adult population, have now gotten at least one vaccine dose, the Ministry highlighted.
Chair of the National Health Strategic Group on COVID-19 and Head of Infectious Diseases at HMC, Dr Abdullatif Al Khal noted that safety has remained a top priority in the vaccination drive.
“We were clear from the outset that we only wanted to administer internationally approved, safe and effective vaccines for the people of Qatar,” he said.
“Extensive clinical studies have showed the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines to be safe, and it is reassuring that with more than 500,000 vaccine doses administered in Qatar, no reported serious side effects have been directly associated with the vaccine, and I encourage everyone to take the vaccine when their turn comes,” Dr Al Khal added.
While the quantities of the vaccines have played a role in scaling up the vaccination program, notable efforts have gone into making sure that citizens and residents of Qatar have greater access to vaccines with available options.
Managing Director of Primary Health Care Corporation, Dr Mariam Abdulmalik, explained, “Since the start of the vaccination program we have focused on streamlining the vaccination process within our primary health centers which has enabled us to achieve a constant increase in the number of vaccines administered daily across our 27 centers.”
"Additionally, the PHCC vaccination center at the Qatar National Convention Center which opened at the start of February now regularly vaccinates more than 5,000 people each day including teachers, school administration staff and other priority groups. Additionally, the recent opening of the Lusail COVID-19 Drive-Through Vaccination Center, run by Hamad Medical Corporation in partnership with PHCC, has also significantly boosted capacity," Dr Abdulmalik said.
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