Syria receives 200,000 doses of AstraZeneca

Syria has received its first delivery of vaccines through the global COVAX initiative, with almost 200,000 doses of the AstraZeneca shot, UN officials said yesterday.

Another 53,800 vaccines were delivered to the opposition-held north-west. The statement said more deliveries were planned in coming weeks and months.

Akjemal Magtymova, head of the WHO’s Syria mission, said last month a phased rollout aimed to inoculate nearly 20 per cent of Syria’s population by the end of the year, or almost five million people in both government-held areas and the northeast and northwest.

Syria was hit hard by the pandemic last year with infections spiking in August and December. Health workers cite a rise in cases since February.