The Minister of Health of the Lebanese Business Government, Dr. Firas Al -Abyad, announced the receipt of 600,000 doses of the cholera vaccine tomorrow, Wednesday, with funding from the World Health Organization, in cooperation with UNICEF, after Lebanon received 13,440 doses last week from France.
This was revealed during a ministerial conference today, which was attended by Dr. the WHO representative for Lebanon.
Abdel Nasser Abu Bakr, Ayaki Eto, a representative of the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees in Lebanon, and a number of representatives from the Red Cross, UNICEF, and the World Health Organization.
The minister said that the first phase of the vaccine distribution plan will start next Saturday and will last for three weeks to distribute 600 thousand doses, covering seventy percent of the targeted groups in the areas most vulnerable to the spread of the epidemic, explaining that the selection of these groups came in accordance with specific criteria that include the geographical environment and the presence of pollution in cholera In addition to the regions with an increase in population density that aids in the spread of the infection, the infection can also be found in its water sources.
Al-Abyad emphasised the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness, saying it has been administered orally to 100 million people worldwide and that the age ranges for the targeted groups begin at one year old.
He pointed out that international organizations played a very important role in securing the vaccine for free for Lebanon at a record speed, as he obtained approval for six hundred thousand vaccines in a period not exceeding eight days from the date of submitting the application, noting that Lebanon is in the process of obtaining more doses, equivalent to one million five hundred thousand To begin the second phase of the vaccine plan and increase coverage, to one million eight hundred thousand.
He explained that last May, UNICEF ranked a number of regions in Lebanon as the most vulnerable to the spread of various diseases and epidemics due to the weakness of the infrastructure in it, noting that these areas are currently exposed to the spread of cholera and they are in the northern regions, especially Akkar in its western side, and northeast Arsal, its environs, and the middle Bekaa are particularly important parts of the Bekaa.
The minister emphasised that the cholera epidemic in Lebanon is currently under control and that the vaccine campaign is crucial to maintaining control of the epidemic so that Lebanon can once again be cholera-free. The minister added that if the current efforts fail, not only the health system but also agriculture, tourism, and other economic sectors will be negatively impacted.
Tomorrow, Wednesday, 600 000 doses of the cholera vaccine will be delivered to Lebanon, and the vaccination campaign will begin on Saturday.
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