DILI, 11 november 2021 (TATOLI) – The Spokesperson of the Inter-Ministerial Commission on COVID-19 Vaccination Plan, Danina Coelho says Timor-Leste has reached a 51 percent double dose mark.
Coelho said 76.4 percent of Timorese aged 18 and above had received at least one dose of the vaccine.
So far, Timor-Leste had received a total of 1.213.279 doses of Covid-19 vaccines, consisting of 1.012.650 doses of AstraZeneca, 100.000 doses of SINOVAC (China), and 100.620 doses of Pfizer vaccines (USA).
Of the 1.012.650 AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines, 100.800 doses were given by COVAX Facility, 24.00 doses from New Zealand, 577.850 does were donated by the government of Australia, 142.000 doses from Portugal, and 168.000 doses were given by the Japanese government.
“I would like to congratulate the population across the country, who had been participated actively in the nation’s vaccination campaign,” Coelho made the comments in a press conference, held at the Ministry of Social, Solidarity, and Inclusion (MoSSI), in Dili, today.
She said Timor-Leste had witnessed a significant decline in the number of people with Covid-19 at the hospital, as well as positive cases because the majority of the population had been vaccinated with at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine.
“The 76.4 percent vaccination coverage means that the communities’ immune system was boosted against the severe effects of the Covid-19,” she said.
Covid-19 vaccination: Municipality Tracker
The COVID-19 vaccination campaign in Timor-Leste is an ongoing mass immunization campaign.
The Ruak administration has also committed to accelerating the vaccination campaign in the country through direct involvement of the government members in the vaccination campaign in the municipalities. At least four municipalities have now fully vaccinated at least half of their adult residents.
Four of these municipalities – Dili (74.2%), Covalima (62.8%), and 60 percent each in RAEAO and Viqueque. However, the vaccination rate is low in Ermera and Liquica with 26.9 percent and 35 percent respectively.
Coelho called on communities across the country to visit the nearest vaccination centers to get vaccinated to protect themselves from the severe infections of Covid-19.
Last week, the Executive Director of Timor-Leste’s Medical and Pharmaceutical Supply Agency (SAMES), Santana Martins said that around 152.250 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines will expire within November.
“Of the 152.250 doses vaccines, 37.600 doses donated by the Japanese Government will expire on november 9, 2021. While, the 114.650 doses given by the Portuguese government to be expired on november 30 this year,” Martins said.
In addition, Coelho said 14.000 AstraZeneca vaccines had expired on october 30, 2021.
Echoing Coelho’s statement, the Minister of Health, Odete Maria Freitas Belo said these expired doses would be safely destroyed as medical waste.
Journalist: Filomeno Martins
Editor: Nelia Borges Rosario
