The Health Emergency Operation Centre (HEOC) has stated that no date has been set thus far to administer the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The Maldives began its COVID-19 vaccination drive on February 1. 43,817 people have received the first dose of the vaccine thus far. The country is using the COVISHIELD vaccine manufactured by Serum Institute of India under a special licensing issued by AstraZeneca. 100,000 doses of the vaccine, which is enough to fully vaccinate 50,000 people using two doses, were gifted to the Maldives by the Indian government.
However, no other vaccines have been received to date. The Head of Vaccine Operations, Mohamed Hamzath said the government would continue to administer vaccines until all 100,000 doses are used up, as the vaccine stock will be replenished within this month. However, the exact numbers cannot be shared at this time, Hamzath had said.
When asked if vaccines for the second dose will arrive in the Maldives in time if the 100,000 doses are administered without keeping half aside for the second dose, Hamzath said there is still time to administer the second dose of the vaccine. While the Maldives previously set a 4 week period between doses, and while the World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended to administer the second dose within 8 to 12 weeks of giving the first dose, experts have suggested that the second dose can be delayed for more than 12 weeks after the first dose, said Hamzath. HEOC’s Technical Advisory Group (TAG) has not yet made a decision whether to keep the gap between two doses at four weeks or 12 weeks, said Hamzath.
Hamzath said he does not expect any interruption to the ongoing vaccine program due to low vaccine stock.
