The Health Emergency Operation Centre (HEOC) has stated that the COVID-19 vaccines gifted to the Maldives by India are stored under the correct conditions.
The Indian government donated 100,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured and distributed by the Serum Institute of India. The doses are enough to fully vaccinate 50,000 people against COVID-19.
While the vaccine has to be stored at refrigeration temperature, concerns have been raised by some whether the facilities required to correctly store the vaccines are available.
Addressing the concerns, HEOC said the vaccines are stored under correct conditions and that the storage site is being continuously monitored. The vaccines are currently stored at a cold room at the Health Protection Agency, said HEOC.
Although the Maldives has already received its first shipment of COVID-19 vaccines, the date on which inoculation will begin has not been announced thus far. While the commencement of a new vaccine program is no easy feat, preparations to commence the program, including training health officials are currently ongoing, said HEOC.
