Denver – Morocco’s campaign against COVID-19 continues to be lauded by health professionals around the globe, with many pointing to North African country’s largely successful vaccination campaign.
In an interview on RIM radio on Friday, health professional Jamaleddine El Bouzidi labeled Morocco a “pioneer” of COVID vaccines in Africa. Bouzidi remarked that the country is responsible for utilizing at least 50% of the total vaccines distributed so far on the African continent.
Morocco has continued to push for total vaccination within its borders, and recently approved the vaccination of children as young as 12 years old. The country has nearly reached the 50% mark of the total population vaccinated with both COVID-19 doses.
Bouzidi attributed Morocco’s success to the “courageous and daring decisions of His Majesty King Mohammed VI,” alongside the “efforts of citizens and health and security authorities.” The country is one of the few nations in Africa to receive consistent shipments of vaccines from Sinopharm, Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, and Pfizer.
In addition to receiving and distributing large-scale vaccine shipments from foreign pharmaceutical companies, Morocco is also currently working to develop its own domestic version of a COVID-19 vaccine. Health experts throughout Africa have welcomed the country’s initiative to produce its own vaccines, and believe the benefits will be spread throughout the African continent.
Several African countries continue to suffer from high levels of vaccine shortages, with many African health care workers having fallen on the COVID-19 frontline as a result. Earlier this year, the World Health Organization released a report that highlighted the glaring disparity in vaccine availability in Africa compared to the rest of the globe.
Morocco is one of the few exceptions to this COVID vaccination divide between Africa and the rest of the world.
With the implementation of stringent health policies and continued expansion of the country’s vaccination campaign, experts in Morocco are optimistic the country will soon be relatively close to eliminating the threat of COVID-19.
