Rabat – The US administration donated over 300,000 Johnson & Johnson vaccines to Morocco on Saturday, July 24.
In a press release from the US embassy in Rabat, the US said that the decision to donate the vaccines to Morocco is part of the COVAX global initiative.
COVAX is a global initiative that seeks to secure COVID-19 vaccines for developing countries.
The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization introduced the initiative in collaboration with the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the Coalition for innovations in the fields, among other partners.
Morocco is among the list of 100 countries benefiting from the program, seeking to ensure equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, especially across third world countries.
Charge d’Affaires at the US embassy in Morocco, Lawrence Randolph, lauded Morocco’s efforts to manage COVID-19 crisis.
“Morocco has done an exceptional job managing a hugely successful vaccination campaign, under the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI,” the Charge d’Affaires said.
The US diplomat emphasized the US support to Morocco’s national vaccination campaign through the delivery of the vaccines.
“The United States and Morocco – along with partners across the globe – are doing everything we can to protect our people, especially our most vulnerable and our front-line workers.”
The US embassy announced that the US military is in the process of donating a $1.5 million field hospital to combat infectious disease outbreaks in the country.
Recalling the US engagement in international efforts supporting Rabat’s anti-COVID-19 campaign, the embassy said that Washington invested more than $15 million in Morocco’s COVID-19 pandemic response.
“The U.S. government, through USAID, has worked with the Ministry of Health and other partners to raise awareness about COVID-19 risks, train healthcare workers, study vaccine effectiveness, and provide hygiene and laboratory equipment and supplies,” the statement added.
Prior to the US announcement, Morocco also received a further two million COVID-19 doses from Sinopharm.
The new batch seeks to strengthen Morocco’s vaccination campaign with the aim to vaccinate 80% or 33 million of the population..
To date, Morocco’s fully vaccinated population has reached 9,794,265 as of July 24.
Over 11, 728, 171 people also received the first dose of vaccines.
