Health and lifestyle

Fourar: Algeria has so far acquired nearly 2,500,000 doses to fight COVID-19

The number of doses that Algeria has acquired so far has reached nearly 2,500,000 as part of efforts to combat the spread of Covid-19, said Dr. Djamel Fourar, the official spokesman for Coronavirus monitoring and follow-up Committee, today Sunday.

On the occasion of his supervision of the launch of the wide vaccination campaign through the neighborhood space in Kettani Square in the municipality of Bab El-Oued, Dr. Fourar said that “the number of vaccines that Algeria has acquired so far has reached nearly 2 million and 500 thousand doses”, whether of the “Sinovac” or “Astra-Zeneca” type, stressing that during the month of June, an additional 5 million doses will be provided, allowing the provision of what is necessary to vaccinate citizens through the neighborhood spaces provided by the Ministry of Health at the national level.

The same spokesperson stressed that all the vaccines provided by the ministry to citizens are “equivalent” in terms of their effectiveness and “safe” and that there is no need for concern and suspicion, explaining that Algeria “was able, despite the decline in international solidarity in the field of vaccine provision, to provide the necessary doses to citizens, thanks to the “COVAX” system, established by the World Health Organization, in addition to agreements with some producers of this substance, which allowed the passage to the second stage of vaccination.”

He also stressed that vaccination remains the only way to prevent the virus and the registration of serious cases and deaths, stressing the importance of continuing to respect the health protocol represented in washing hands, physical distancing and the mandatory wearing of protective masks.

Fourar considered that the vaccination campaign “today has taken on another character that responds to the neighborhood strategy drawn up by the Ministry of Health in order to strengthen the basic health units that have started the vaccination process since last January 29.”

In the same context, he announced that the Ministry of Health, which has allocated “great potential” to the success of this neighborhood operation, “will, starting tomorrow, Monday, expand the neighborhood space operation across 20 other provinces, and before the end of the week it will be circulated to all provinces of the country.”

Kettani Square witnessed, since the early morning, an ascending influx of citizens to the neighborhood space allocated by the Ministry of Health in order to receive the vaccine, whether in its first or second dose. Citizens, men and women, motivated by curiosity and love of knowledge, were seen approaching the medical staff and mentors, and soon the place was filled with different age groups.

A waiting room was provided to receive the arrivals before directing them to the medical examination hall, which is supervised by a medical and paramedical staff, where citizens are registered on a record of information, in the light of which the method of guidance and advice that is appropriate for each case is determined, as noted.

It was also proceeded without delay to providing the vaccine to the citizens in a separate third room, after verifying the quality of the required vaccine, which was indicated on a white card given to the citizen upon prior inspection.

Dr. Benmihoub Houria, head of the Epidemiology and Prevention Department, of Bab El Oued neighborhood public institution, was one of the medical staff supervising this operation, and confirmed that since this morning, a “significant number” of citizens of different age groups had been received as part of the vaccination process against Covid. 19 – Outside the health structures, they benefited from “two types of vaccines, namely “Sinovac” for those aged 18 to 50 years and “AstraZeneca” for those over 50 years old.

For his part, the Director of Health of the province of Algiers, Mr. Yala Abderrahim, confirmed that “all material and human means have been harnessed, and they are not different from those in neighborhood institutions or hospitals,” noting that the vaccines for this operation are “available in sufficient quantities for the local population,” and that this process is considered “a supplement to the tireless work carried out by the 45 public health institutions in neighborhoods across the wilaya of Algiers,” stressing also that the process “will take the necessary time so that the largest possible number of citizens can benefit from the vaccine.”

In the same context, he indicated that the wilaya of Algiers “will know the opening of 5 additional spaces across the municipalities in the center, east and west of the wilaya, in order to get closer to the largest number of citizens.”

It is noteworthy that the Ministry of Health, Population and Hospital Reform announced yesterday, Saturday, in a press release that this operation falls within the framework of “strengthening base vaccination points outside health structures in order to expand the vaccination campaign against Covid-19 for the benefit of all citizens.”

The Minister of Health, Population and Hospital Reform, Abderrahmane Benbouzid, had given directives to all health directors across the country’s wilayas in order to strengthen the vaccination campaign against the Coronavirus pandemic, which mainly focused on “strengthening the vaccination campaign, intensifying communication and awareness activities aimed at promoting the vaccination process, strengthening points of vaccination by mobilizing other supplementary vaccination sites outside health structures to be determined in cooperation with local authorities.

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