1st Batch of AstraZeneca Vaccine Arrives in Algiers

The first batch, composed of 50,000 doses of the Anglo-Swedish vaccine AstraZeneca, arrived in the early afternoon of Monday in the Houari-Boumediene International Airport (Algiers). This batch of the AstraZeneca vaccine follows the batch of Russian vaccine Sputnik V, received Friday and ordered as part of Algeria strategy aimed at fighting the Covid-19 epidemic.

On Friday, 50,000 doses of the Russian vaccine Sputnik V arrived in the Boufarik military airport (Blida). The vaccination campaign, to last throughout 2021 was symbolically kicked off Blida (50km west of Algiers), the first national cluster of the pandemic, which appeared over a year ago.

In a statement to the press on the sidelines of the receipt of Astra-Zeneca vaccine, the spokesman of the scientific committee for monitoring the progress of Coronavirus pandemic Djamel Fourar underlined that this operation is part of the program of the Ministry of Health and Population aimed at strengthening the distribution nationwide in order to provide the necessary vaccines against the Coronavirus in all the country’s provinces, adding that other batches of Covid-19 vaccine will be received shortly.

“This cargo of Astra-Zeneca vaccine will be destined to Pasteur Institute to be distributed from today nationwide in order to contain the pandemic quickly and effectively,” he said, adding that it will also strengthen supply capacities in all health units in Algeria.

The national vaccination campaign, which will continue throughout the year, he said, will concern in a first phase the medical staff and top officials, in addition to people aged over 65 years and chronically ill people, he said.