DILI, 22 september 2021 (TATOLI) – The first batch of the 100.602 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine will arrive in Timor-Leste at the end of september or the beginning of october, Minister of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Fidelis Manuel Leite Magalhães said.
“According to the presentation of the team for Preparation and Coordination of the Execution of the Vaccination Plan against COVID-19, the COVAX Facility had confirmed that the 100.602 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine would be delivered to Timor-Leste very soon,” Magalhães told reporters after the Council of Ministers meeting at the Palace of the Government, in Dili, on wednesday.
Magalhães said the Pfizer vaccines would be administered at schools across the territory, prioritizing the children aged 12 to 17.
“The vaccine will be administered first at the pre-selected municipalities. The first phase of the administration of the vaccine would be focused on the 50.000 Timorese school children aged 12 to 17. After that, the second phase of the administration of the vaccine would be concentrated on those children who don’t go to school,” he said.
Magalhães said the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine requires two doses given 21 days apart.
“Timor-Leste’s Medical and Pharmaceutical Supply Agency (SAMES), with the technical and financial support of UNICEF, will prepare the storage conditions for the vaccine at SAMES,” he said.
The Pfizer vaccine is 95 percent effective against severe diseases caused by Covid-19.
As of wednesday, in Timor-Leste, of the 754.864 eligible groups, 56.3 percent had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, of which 33.4 percent have also received their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Journalist: Filomeno Martins
Editor: Nelia Borges Rosario
