Rabat – As Morocco continues to accelerate its national vaccination campaign, another shipment of 1 million Sinopharm vaccines arrived in Morocco on Tuesday, August 3.
Said Afif of Morocco’s National Vaccination Committee confirmed the shipment’s arrival to local media. Morocco has now received a total of 20.5 million doses of the Chinese-made vaccine.
Just 48 hours ago, 1 million Sinopharm dosages had been delivered, arriving on Sunday, August 1. According to local media, two more shipments are scheduled, with 1 million doses expected to arrive on August 6, and an additional 1 million doses of Sinopharm expected on August 8.
In addition to Sinopharm, an estimated 300,000 Johnson & Johnson vaccines were donated to Morocco on July 24 through the COVAX program. The COVAX program had also allocated Morocco 1,608,000 doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, most of which were delivered in March, 2021.
As of August 3, Morocco has successfully vaccinated 14,314,037 of its population, with 10,437,707 people having received their second jab, being fully vaccinated. In total, Morocco has administered 24,751,744 doses of various COVID-19 vaccines.
In late July, the Moroccan Ministry of Health expanded its vaccination campaign to the population aged 25 and above, as well as allowing Moroccan residents to obtain vaccinations regardless of where they live.
As COVID-19 numbers surge in Morocco, not only are the health authorities rapidly expanding the country’s vaccination campaign, but is also introducing growingly restrictive preventative measures.
Starting August 3, the government introduced a stricter curfew, widening the curfew from 11 p.m. to 9 p.m. The new measures also include a travel ban to and from some of the country’s COVID-19 hotspots, such as Casablanca, Marrakech and Agadir.
Following the new rules, only vaccinated people carrying a valid vaccination certificate and those with urgent medical conditions will be allowed to travel to the aforementioned cities.
