Some 203,580 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines have been presented by the U.S. Embassy in Mauritius to the Mauritian authorities on Wednesday morning to beef up their campaign against the resurgent coronavirus.
The Pfizer vaccines which arrived at the Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport on 16 December 2021 resulted from the coordinated efforts of the U.S. government, COVAX, and the African Union.
The U.S government also donated 39,780 doses of the Pfizer vaccine to Seychelles.
Present at the handing over ceremony, the Mauritian Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Kailesh Kumar Singh Jagutpal said the year 2022 was beginning with a new hope in the global fight against COVID-19.
“Vaccination has proved to be a game-changer and even if global cases are escalating due to the emergence of the Omicron variant, hospitalisations and deaths appear to be on a downward curve” he pointed out.
He said looking back at last year, more than 72 percent of the Mauritian population have received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines while making progress in the vaccination of youngsters.
US official Ms. Judes E. DeBaere, stated that the donation reaffirmed her country’s commitment to ending the COVID-19 pandemic, help save lives and mitigate the pandemic’s devastating social and economic impacts.
For her, even with the rise of new variants, vaccines remain effective at lowering the rate of hospitalisation and severe illness.
“Mauritius has been a leader in ensuring vaccine availability and I hope all eligible people will take advantage of this” said the Chargée d’Affaires.
To date Mauritius has benefitted from three donations of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines from the U.S.
The first consignment of the vaccine was delivered in September, and a second one arrived last November.
In total, Mauritius has received 387,270 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines as donations from the U.S. government.
S. GoverThe United States has donated more than 302 million COVID-19 vaccines to more than 110 countries worldwide.
WN/as/APA