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Saturday, 20 February, 2021 - 08:15
A woman takes a picture with her mobile phone as she receives the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against COVID-19 at the American University of Beirut s medical center on February 14, 2021. Mohamed Azakir/Reuters Beirut - Asharq Al-Awsat
More than 17,000 people have received the COVID-19 vaccine in Lebanon since the launch of the inoculation campaign less than a week ago, Health Advisor to the President Dr. Walid Khoury confirmed on Friday.
“No complications or side effects experienced from the vaccine have been registered so far,” the advisor said, adding that Lebanon is on the right track to implement the national plan for the vaccination drive.
Wednesday, 17 February, 2021 - 12:45
A Lebanese man waits for his vaccine in a hospital. (AP) Beirut- Asharq Al-Awsat
The number of daily COVID-19 cases is continuing to decline in Lebanon, a reliable indicator of compliance about a month into lockdown, coinciding with the start of the first vaccination phase.
Last week, Lebanon recorded the lowest daily infection rate in a month, reaching less than 1739 cases. This is attributed to the decline in the number of PCR examinations and the general lockdown imposed by the Lebanese authorities.
In this context, Rafik Hariri Hospital Director Firas Abiad explains that the number of tests has declined because citizens are staying home, so those who come in contact quarantine at home instead of taking the test.
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After an agonising year fighting Covid-19, Lebanon’s healthcare system can at last see light at the end of the tunnel.
Healthcare workers are days away from being vaccinated against “one of the cruellest diseases they’ve ever treated”, said Eveline Hitti, chairwoman of the department of emergency medicine at the American University of Beirut Medical Centre
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More than 28,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine arrived on Saturday. More batches will follow this month and later in the year. In all, 2.1 million doses are expected.
“First doses will start on Sunday in limited numbers and will expand on Monday to several centres all over Lebanon,” said Abdul Rahman Bizri, head of Lebanon’s national coronavirus committee. They will be administered with priority given to health workers and high-risk groups as a start, he said.