COVID-19 vaccines reach Syria amid warnings of discrimination in access
May 4, 2021
Syria Vaccine Team workers transport AstraZeneca vaccines in Idlib province, northwest Syria, 4/21/2021 (Idlib Health Directorate)
AMMAN On May 1, a three-week COVID-19 vaccination campaign targeting medical workers began in northwest Syria. The start of vaccinations follows the recent arrival of vaccines in the country.
On April 24, the Syrian regime received 150,000 doses of the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine from China. It was the second batch to arrive in Damascus, days after 203,000 out of a total 256,800 AstraZeneca doses for Syria were received through the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access Facility (COVAX) initiative. The remaining 53,800 doses were for opposition areas in northwest Syria.
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Here is the other coronavirus-related news from around the world.
Europe
Cities across
Germany on Saturday put thousands of police officers on standby ahead of May Day workers rallies which will coincide with fresh anti-lockdown protests. Police have warned that the demonstrations could turn violent, particularly after nightfall.
In Berlin, up to 10,000 people are expected to show up for a left-wing march starting from 6 p.m. local time (1600 GMT/UTC), hours after a rally by the Querdenker (Lateral Thinker) movement, which opposes the government s COVID strategy.
The number of cases in Germany increased by 18,935 to 3,400,532, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases said on Saturday. The death toll rose by 232 to 83,082.
January 14, 2021
A member of the medical staff of Al-Assad University Hospital in Damascus, puts on protective gloves at the special department designated for the testing of people with symptoms of the COVID-19, 15/4/2020 (AFP)
AMMAN, BEIRUT Syria is not faring well in the race to procure the COVID-19 vaccine. While 30 million people have already been vaccinated in 50 countries, the vaccine is expected to arrive in Syria by April, or at the latest by June.
On Tuesday, the Syrian government agreed on the distribution mechanism of the vaccine, but details have not yet surfaced. Ahead of the vaccination rollout, humanitarian actors warn of the risk of discriminatory practices in the distribution of the vaccine if Damascus is given free rein.
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A man carries a child as he walks with other women and children ahead of a member of the Syrian Kurdish internal security services known as Asayish as they head towards trucks, during the release of persons suspected of being related to Islamic State (IS) group fighters from the Kurdish-run al-Hol camp in Hasakeh governorate in northeastern Syria, on January 19, 2021. Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP
Highlights
“I’m 52 years old. At this age, I don’t know what to do, where to go,” he says.
Getting rid of COVID-19 waste: Another obstacle to confronting the pandemic in northwest Syria syriadirect.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from syriadirect.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.