Coronavirus: Bahrain to be among first countries to receive vaccine: Report

Dr Manaf Al Qahtani, Infectious Diseases Consultant and Microbiologist at the BDF Hospital, on Tuesday said that Bahrain, following the directives of  His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister, has put in place proactive plans to deal with the coronavirus since the announcement of its global outbreak.

Al Qahtani, also member of the National Taskforce for Combating Covid-19, said that all capabilities and resources have been harnessed to address the pandemic in a way that preserves the health and safety of citizens and residents in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

He said that the National Taskforce for Combating Covid-19, chaired by Supreme Council for Health (SCH) President Lieutenant-General Dr Shaikh Mohammed bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, is kept up to date with developments in coronavirus vaccines to take the necessary proactive steps.

He said that Bahrain made an order in August to purchase more than 1 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccines being developed by BioNTech and Pfizer the British firm AstraZeneca and the  China’s Sinopharm.

The Kingdom of Bahrain, in cooperation with the UAE, has participated in the Phase 3 clinical trial for a potential Covid-19 vaccine, being developed by Sinopharm.

Dr Qahtani said that the selection of the aforementioned vaccines was made by the National Taskforce for Combating Covid-19 after following up on the developments vaccine trials in the world.

He said that Bahrain is in continued contact with the other medical first which are developing the potential Covid-19 vaccine.

He announced that Bahrain would be among the first countries in the world to provide the vaccines as soon as one is accredited by the National Health Regulatory Authority (NHRA) and international health organisations.

He said that relevant authorities had drawn up plans to provide the vaccine to citizens and residents easily and conveniently and in accordance with the best global health practices in this field.